


The Green and the Yellow, Book 2: Ninja of Legend

by DoveShadow



Series: The Green and the Yellow [2]
Category: Lego Ninjago
Genre: Action/Adventure, But Spinjitzu is fun, Destiny is a heavy burden, F/M, Green Ninja, Is that a ship I see?, Lloyd and Aurora are 10 going on 16, Ninja, Ninja never quit, Ninjago, Slow Burn, Stone Warriors are annoying, Yellow Ninja, chartreuse, more shenanigans
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-22
Updated: 2020-07-09
Packaged: 2021-03-02 02:08:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 83,146
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23777368
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DoveShadow/pseuds/DoveShadow
Summary: After saving Ninjago from the terrible Great Devourer, it’s finally time for Aurora to begin her training to become the fabled Yellow Ninja. Alongside her best friend Lloyd--the legendary Green Ninja--the two of them are destined to save all of Ninjago one day. But training is not that easy, and the two of them soon learn just how great the responsibility they carry really is. Meanwhile, a new darkness begins to rise, threatening to consume Ninjago and the ninja that protect it.
Relationships: Lloyd Garmadon/Original Character(s), Lord Garmadon/Misako (Ninjago), Misako & Sensei Wu (Ninjago), Nya/Jay Walker
Series: The Green and the Yellow [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1677793
Comments: 58
Kudos: 45





	1. Episode 13: Darkness Shall Rise

**Author's Note:**

> Book 2 is finally here! (happy squealing noises) You've all waited so patiently, and I thank you for that! I'm so excited to share the second book with you guys!
> 
> That being said, the update schedule will be a little different than the first book. I already had that whole thing written before I posted it, so I posted the chapters daily/every other day. I'm not entirely finished writing this book yet (but I am VERY close), so I'll have to restrain myself to only updating weekly so that that I can stay ahead. I'm sorry to make you guys wait for one chapter every week, but this is so that I don't end up going on a three week hiatus because I'm all caught up and have writer's block or something. XP But, if I'm feeling generous, sometimes I will post twice a week!
> 
> How many of you have watched Ninjago since it first aired? Remember how new episodes aired every Wednesday? Well, I'll be posting a new chapter every Wednesday in honor of that! So be sure to (Alastor voice) stay tuned!!!!
> 
> Enough talk! You guys just wanna get to the story, right? So, enjoy the beginning of book 2! I'm incredibly excited for what's to come! :D  
> \-------------

The bright glow of sunlight was what awoke me from my slumber. I opened my eyes sleepily, trying to blink myself awake. A massive yawn forced its way from my mouth, and I stared at my surroundings. For a moment, I was confused when I saw that I wasn’t surrounded by the familiar wooden walls of the Destiny’s Bounty, but then I remembered. It had been destroyed by the Great Devourer.

The only window in the room was open, letting the warm sunlight stream inside and allowing a cool breeze to gently blow through it. I sat up in the bed, looking at the hotel room I was in. It wasn’t the best or the fanciest hotel in Ninjago City, but we’d had nowhere else to go last night, and luckily the ninja had enough money to pay for a night in this room. At least we had a roof over our head---that was all I needed.

I looked around the small hotel room, finding no ninja or anyone in sight---except for the Green Ninja. Lloyd Garmadon was on the floor at the side of my bed, his head resting on the sheets. It looked like he had fallen asleep in the position.

_When did he get there?_ I wondered, smiling fondly at the sight of him. _Was he that worried about me?_ Sometimes, it still amazed me how much Lloyd seemed to care about me. He was my best friend, so I supposed it only made sense. The two of us had been through so much together in such a short time, and we had formed a special bond that I was sure nothing could break. The fact that we’d both turned out to be the Green Ninja and Yellow Ninja of legend had only brought us closer together.

I decided to wake him up; maybe he knew where the others went. “Lloyd?” I whispered, nudging him. “Wake up.”

Lloyd stirred, but groaned in protest. “Five more minutes…”

I giggled at his response. “Come on, sleepyhead. I need company.”

Slowly, Lloyd opened his eyes and woke up. He lifted his head, yawning loudly like I had earlier. When his gaze found me, a smile brightened his face, and he perked up. “Hey! You’re looking a lot better.”

I nodded, sitting back against the pillows. “Yeah, I feel so much better,” I confirmed, stretching my arms out. A dull soreness had replaced the sharp pains and aches yesterday’s events had thrown upon me. First I’d been thrown into a rack of heavy weapons by Pythor, then had been crushed by said weapons, and then after that I had crash-landed with the dragon while fighting the Great Devourer. I was relieved that I hadn’t suffered any major damage, and was very happy that all that remained today was a few sore bruises. “I don’t hurt nearly as much as I did yesterday,” I informed my friend.

Lloyd breathed a sigh of relief. “Good,” he replied. “I was...kinda worried about you…”

I smirked down at him. “Lloyd, did you stay here all night?”

“N-No!” he immediately denied. His cheeks turned the tiniest shade of red. “Not _all_ night…”

I laughed at his reaction. “Thanks, Lloyd. That was sweet.” Deciding to give him a break, I changed the subject. “So, where is everyone?”

Lloyd stood up on his feet. “Well, the ninja are out helping to fix some of the damage that the Devourer caused. Nya and my uncle went to run an errand---something about getting Dragon Ointment and parts to fix the Ninja Tank. They told me to stay here with you until they got back.”

I nodded. “Guess we’ll just have to wait for them.” I thought for a moment, then sat up. “Wanna play a game until they get back?”

Lloyd smiled and nodded. “Sure!”

. . .

So... What _is_ the first thing that a family of ninjas do after saving all of Ninjago City from a giant snake known as the Great Devourer, and after they’ve helped clean the city?

The answer? Apartment hunting.

“This one bedroom, one half bath is a cozy dream!”

A real estate lady, Patty Keys, was giving us a tour of an apartment. Well, I wasn’t too sure that it qualified as an apartment; it was more like one room with a tiny bathroom attached to it. Lloyd and I peeked into the apartment with the rest of the ninja. “Cozy” was definitely one way to describe it, as it looked very cramped. Wires and pipes poked out of the walls, and cobwebs were everywhere. The kitchen, if you could call it that, was a mere stove and oven with a few boxes next to it. The single bed inside didn’t even have a mattress.

_Okay, I know I said before that all I needed was a roof over my head,_ I thought, _but I was hoping for something just a tiny bit...nicer._

“Who needs extras when everything is in arm’s reach?” Patty stated happily, smiling widely. “Now, wait until you see the lighting!” She flipped the light switch, and the singular light bulb flickered for a moment before fizzling out. To make matters worse, it fell out of its socket the next second, shattering on the ground.

Patty’s smile faltered for a moment. “Uh… Who needs lights when you have this view? Heh.” She walked over to the window and pulled the blinds up, revealing the wonderful sight of a brick wall outside. I mentally facepalmed.

Lloyd and I walked inside. “Uh, why do I smell old people?” Lloyd asked her.

I breathed out a sigh of relief. “Oh, good, I thought I was the only one bothered by that.”

“Look, dolls,” Patty said, abruptly losing her optimism, “I’m trying to work around your budget. This is all that you can afford!”

“Uh, this looks...promising,” Cole stated uncertainly. He turned to the others. “Remember, guys, Sensei told us our main objective is to train Lloyd and Aurora, not kick our feet up in some swanky suite. If this is all we can afford, this is all we can afford.”

Jay waved an arm to stop him. “Whoa, whoa, whoa, let’s not rush into any decision. I mean, if it’s really all about Lloyd and Aurora, don’t we need to live some place that’ll make their training easier?”

“Yeah, Jay’s right,” Kai agreed. “If we have to get Lloyd and Aurora ready to save Ninjago from Lloyd’s father, shouldn’t they at least have their own room?”

I mean, having our own room again would be nice. But...I supposed that we didn’t really _need_ it…

Zane spoke up. “Technically, that does not matter, they only---”

Kai elbowed him in the stomach, cutting him off.

“We’re only thinking about the children!” Jay finished for him, laughing nervously at Patty.

Patty smiled again. “I do have another property that you’ll just _love_!”

About ten minutes later, we were all walking into a drastically different apartment complex. We rode the elevator to the top floor, and when the doors opened, they revealed the fanciest modern apartment that I had ever seen.

Everyone gasped simultaneously at the amazing sight. “Whoa!”

Patty proudly led the way inside. “Now, this is the eight-bedroom Hero Suite! Floor-to-ceiling windows, digital wall television, state-of-the-art game console…”

Lloyd and I exchanged an excited look at the mention of a gaming console. _Awesome!_

“Uh, it seems a little out of our price range,” Cole pointed out.

Patty smiled. “Oh, sure it costs a little more, but you deserve it! I forgot to mention: there’s also a dragon keep on the roof.”

_A dragon keep?!_ This place was our dream home! It was unreal!

“Nice,” Jay said. “Maybe we can get a hero discount. After all, we _are_ the ninja who saved the city.”

“I thought Lord Garmadon saved the city,” Patty replied.

That comment made Jay cross his arms and pout.

“We could get day jobs to pay for the extra expenses,” Kai suggested.

Zane smiled. “We always said we could use a little more responsibility.”

“But we have to train Lloyd and Aurora,” Kai reminded him, gesturing to the two of us.

Patty smiled wider, pulling a remote out of nowhere. “Did I mention the in-house training facility?”

She pressed a button, causing a section of the wall to slide open. We went to peer inside the new room and found a fully functional training facility inside, just like the one we’d had back on the Bounty. If anything, it was more high-tech, and larger than that one had been. I grinned in awe at the sight. _This place is amazing!_

All four ninja smiled widely. “We’ll take it!”

. . .

And so, the ninja immediately began working day jobs to pay the rent. Jay was a pizza delivery boy, Cole was a security guard at a bank, Zane was a chef at a restaurant, and Kai played with kids at birthday parties. The four of them were out all day doing their jobs, earning as much money as they possibly could. At the end of each day, they would put all their earnings in a big jar on the table. Lloyd and I would run through the training course together while they were busy, and then play on the fancy video game console when we had finished.

At first, it all went pretty smoothly. However, it didn’t take long for the ninja’s new jobs to start taking their toll on them. Each day, they came back more and more exhausted, and sometimes with fewer earnings. When they came back at the end of each day, Lloyd and I were hopeful that they would finally train us, but they were always too tired. And since Nya and Sensei Wu were still gone on their trip, we were left to our own devices most of the day.

Currently, the ninja had just arrived back at the apartment. I grew hopeful that they would train us today. Lloyd was smacking a punching bag, while I was practicing flipping over obstacles on one of the spinning devices. I saw Lloyd punch the bag, not pay attention, then get smacked by it, knocking him onto his back.

I hopped off the spinning thing and laughed. “Punching bag: one, Lloyd: zero,” I said as I walked over to him.

Lloyd grumbled in frustration, begrudgingly accepting my hand to help him back up. “Things would be different if we finally got trained…”

“Yeah,” I agreed, glancing at the exhausted ninja in the other room. “Wanna go ask if they can finally train us?”

Lloyd nodded. The two of us walked into the living room, finding four disgruntled ninja inside. Cole was soaking his feet in ice water.

“My feet…” he groaned. “I can’t feel my feet.”

A muddy Kai half-fell onto the couch. “There was so many of them,” he muttered. “And they wouldn’t stop.”

Zane held an oil can, oiling the gears in his right arm. “My gears locked up several times,” he said. “I didn’t even know my gears _could_ lock up.”

Jay laid on the floor in front of the TV, weakly reaching for a controller. “I don’t even have enough energy to play video games…”

Lloyd spoke up, frowning. “But I thought you were going to train me and Aurora when you got home.”

I nodded. “Yeah, we’ve been anxiously waiting all day.”

“Sorry, champs, but we can’t until we make rent,” Cole told us. “How close are we, Jay?”

Jay went over to the cabinet, rattling the jar of money inside. “Is this jar getting bigger?” he groaned. “We’re not even close.”

“And our rent is due tomorrow,” Zane pointed out, flexing his arm.

“I can pull a double shift,” Cole offered.

Zane smiled. “And I can do overtime.”

Jay heaved himself to his feet. “Maybe I can sling a few more pizza pies.”

Kai sat up on the couch. “And I can make a little extra if I do the human pinata…”

Everyone looked at him with worried and confused expressions.

“Ugh, don’t ask,” Kai told us.

Cole nodded. “Great, then our priorities are set. Tomorrow...we make rent.”

“And, uh...what about us?” Lloyd asked him.

“How about you two help out and fetch me some more ice, huh?” Cole told me and Lloyd.

Lloyd and I sighed, exchanging disappointed looks. I knew that the ninja were tired and busy, but to me, it seemed like they had forgotten what was really important. When would Lloyd and I finally get to learn how to be the ninja that we were destined to be?

. . .

By the time Lloyd and I woke up the next day, all of the ninja had already left for their jobs. We both knew that it would be quite some time before they got back, so we had to occupy ourselves yet again until they returned. So, after eating breakfast, we decided that we would train ourselves.

The two of us kept ourselves busy and really tried to raise our stamina and build muscle. My body was no longer sore, so thankfully it was easy for me to exercise and train. First, we had a little bit of a friendly competition, seeing who could run the fastest and who could complete the training course with the fastest time. Once we grew bored with that, we decided to try and do Spinjitzu; let’s just say that it didn’t work, and the only thing we accomplished was making ourselves very dizzy. Then, we kind of went off track and, uh...started roleplaying.

“The Serpentine are about to attack the city!” I exclaimed, faking panic in my voice as I pointed.

“Then it’s up to us to stop them!” Lloyd proclaimed. “Ninja, go!”

The two of us ran forward, right toward the dummies we had set up to be the “Serpentine.” Lloyd kicked one while I tackled another, then I punched one repeatedly while Lloyd knocked another one down.

This went on for a few minutes, then Lloyd shouted, “There’s too many of them! What do we do?”

“Keep fighting!” I told him, pretending to dodge multiple attacks. “Ninja never quit!”

“You’re right!” Lloyd replied, pretending to fight off two enemies at once. “Let’s hit ‘em with our special move!”

This was something we had randomly thought up earlier. Lloyd and I stood together, each of us extending a hand toward the dummies. We pretended to summon our powers and shoot down all of the “Serpentine” fighting us.

“Ultimate Spinjitzu Master Strike!” Lloyd shouted as we unleashed our power.

The two of us quickly ran around, knocked all the dummies over, then ran back to the poses we’d been in before, acting like we’d summoned a massive wave of combined power to defeat them all.

“We did it!” Lloyd cheered.

“Woo-hoo!” I shouted, leaping up to meet Lloyd in a high-five.

And then after that, we decided to fight each other.

Lloyd and I stood across from one another, our gi masks on and our expressions serious. With the sun high in the sky outside, it felt like a scene from an old western movie. Neither of us moved or spoke, standing still as statues as we each faced our opponent. Then, at the same moment, we both charged.

Without any weapons to battle with, the two of us could only use our own fists. But we didn’t want to actually hurt each other, so our fight was less-than-impressive. It was more of a play fight than an actual training bout. We pushed each other around, turned away and swatted each other’s hands, wrestled on the ground, and basically just tumbled around with each other. Any time one of us tried to do an impressive move like we’d watched the ninja do, we’d fail at it, and the other would get a laugh out of it. The fight ended when we accidentally clunked our heads together, sending us both falling backward onto our backs.

“Ow…” I groaned, my head starting to ache.

I heard Lloyd groan in pain, too. “Call it a draw?”

“Yeah…” I replied weakly.

The two of us remained laying on the floor, growing bored again and wondering what to do now. Lloyd sighed. “I wish that we could _really_ train…”

“I know,” I agreed. “It’s hard to practice by ourselves when we don’t know any actual moves yet. We can’t even practice Spinjitzu, because we don’t know how to do it!” This whole thing was kind of frustrating. Maybe, once Nya and Sensei Wu got back from their road trip, they could show us some basics while the ninja were away.

Lloyd turned his head toward the window. “The ninja will be back in a few hours,” he pointed out. “Maybe they’ll train us today.” He then turned to me. “Wanna play some video games?”

“Heck yeah!” I replied, grinning.

And so we both spent the next few hours playing on the fancy video game console, having a lot of fun as we tried to kill time. There wasn’t much else to do, after all.

We were playing our favorite dragon battle game, trying to get the high score. We didn’t really care which one of us got the top slot, as long as we beat the ninja’s high score. It was difficult, though; after our bajillionth attempt--I had lost count--the scores appeared on the screen, and they still hadn’t surpassed Jay, who only had the third highest score.

Lloyd and I groaned in defeat once again, but quickly recovered and started another game. We were determined to beat this challenge.

I briefly glanced up at the clock on the wall. The ninja were late---again. I sighed, focusing on the game again. “When do you think they’ll be back?” I asked Lloyd as we battled with our dragons.

“Who knows,” Lloyd replied. “They did say that they were working overtime.”

“Oh, yeah,” I said, remembering that little fact. I decided not to think about it anymore, and focused on playing the game instead.

The apartment was filled with the sounds of button mashing and ambient video game music. The music would be stuck in my head later from how long we’d been playing. The setting sun cast a warm orange glow on the room, and it felt pretty peaceful here.

After a minute, as I stared intensely at the giant screen, something caught my eye. My eyebrows furrowed in confusion when I saw a strange blue figure on the screen, something that I was pretty sure wasn’t part of the game. I couldn’t fully make out what it was, but something about it looked familiar.

“Uh, Lloyd?” I asked, pointing at the screen. “Do you see that?”

Lloyd stopped playing and leaned forward, following my finger to what I was pointing at. He saw it, too, and then turned to look at the window. Suddenly, he yelled, “Wha?!”

I looked out the window, and I also yelled in surprise, my eyes growing wide. Right outside our window, standing on a window washer’s platform, was Skales. He knocked on the window, leering at us menacingly with his hypnotic red eyes.

“Hello, little children,” he greeted sinisterly.

Lloyd and I threw our controllers aside and panicked, leaping off the couch. “Run!” I shouted as we both scurried to the door that led out of the apartment. Lloyd frantically pressed the buttons to open it, but to my horror, the doors wouldn’t budge.

“ _Door is locked_ ,” the automated voice of the security system informed us.

Lloyd tried to pull the doors open. “I know!” he shouted at it. “We want it open!”

I tried to help him. We both pulled and pulled on the doors as hard as we could, but to no avail. The door would just not open!

I heard a scraping sound, and turned to see that Skales was using his staff to cut a hole in the glass so he could get inside. “Lloyd!” I exclaimed, grabbing his sleeve. “He’s coming!”

He turned around just as Skales finished cutting the glass. He pushed the circle that he’d cut out, and it fell inward, shattering on the floor. It left a hole behind that he could easily slither through. Lloyd and I grabbed each other, huddling together and shaking in fear.

“What do you want with us?!” Lloyd demanded fearfully.

I reached back and started pressing the buttons on the security system again, praying that they would work.

“You ssseem to be the only thing your father cares about,” Skales told Lloyd as he slithered toward us. “But with you as my hossstage, he’ll have no other choice but to let me lead the Serpentine!”

A wave of courage suddenly flowed through me. This was Skales we were talking about---he was just one Serpentine! Sure, he was dangerous, but it was just him against us! I banished my fear, putting on a threatening face and leaping in front of Lloyd, putting myself between him and Skales. “You’ll have to go through me first!” I yelled at the snake.

Skales merely chuckled. “We’ll sssee about that, little girl.”

He slithered closer and closer, and I backed up until I was right in front of Lloyd, only a hair’s length from him. He was backed up against the door, and I remained in front of him protectively, trying my best to keep my fear off my face as I glared up at Skales. I wasn’t kidding around---he’d have to throw me aside if he wanted to get to Lloyd. Nobody was taking my best friend away!

Skales grew closer and closer. I started shaking again, but tried to hide it. Just as he was about to touch us, a voice spoke from the other side of the door.

“Hello?” the voice of Sensei Wu said as he knocked. “What’s going on in there?”

I gasped in relief. “Sensei!” I shouted through the door.

“Help!” Lloyd screamed.

. . .

Kai, Jay, Zane, and Cole burst into the apartment, searching for any signs of the two kids.

“Lloyd?” Cole called.

“Aurora?” Kai yelled.

Zane walked around. “They’re not here.”

The ninja checked everywhere. Kai walked over to the training room, peering into it. To his dismay, he found it empty. “Oh, we shouldn’t have left them!” he exclaimed.

“We shouldn’t have taken those jobs in the first place,” Cole stated. “What were we thinking? Losing Lloyd and Aurora is by far our greatest loss.”

“But it could be your greatest lesson.”

Sensei Wu and Nya walked into the apartment with me and Lloyd, making ourselves known. Thankfully, the two of them had been able to get to me and Lloyd in time, and stop Skales. Sensei had escorted the defeated Serpentine general to the detention center down the street, while Nya had taken me and Lloyd out for ice cream to calm us down after our traumatic experience.

“Lloyd! Aurora!” The ninja all cried out our names in relief, rushing over to us.

“You’re okay!” Kai exclaimed joyfully.

Lloyd frowned. “We weren’t going to be, until Nya and Sensei showed up at the last moment.”

I let out a sigh of relief. “And it was a good thing they did…”

“I go away for a few days, and everything falls apart,” Nya said, clearly unamused.

Kai smiled, walking over to us. “I guess you could say we learned we don’t need all the fancy stuff. We just need each other.”

“You want us to help you clean up?” Sensei asked the ninja.

“Well, we _are_ a team,” Kai pointed out.

Sensei turned to Nya. “Nya, I think it’s time for another road trip.”

“Hold on,” Cole interjected. “I’ve got a better idea.”

. . .

A couple hours later, we’d moved out of the fancy huge apartment, and were moving into the old run-down one that we’d first toured. The eight of us worked together to move all our furniture inside the small apartment. It would be a tight fit, and the living conditions were less-than-stellar, but it was all we really needed. Just like Kai said, we just needed each other---beyond that, all we really needed was a roof over our heads.

Me, I was just glad to be a part of this family; I’d never stop being thankful for that. If I’d never met Lloyd or the ninja, then I would still be at that orphanage in Jamanakai Village right now. Between living there and living with a family, I would always choose the latter. Even if I lived with them in a small, run-down apartment.

“It’s not much, but this one bedroom, one half bath is a cozy dream,” Cole said as we carried stuff into the apartment, mimicking Patty. “Who needs extras when everything is in arm’s reach?”

I set down the box I’d been carrying, smiling up at Cole. “Wait until you see the lighting!” I exclaimed with enthusiasm, laughing at my impression. My laughter was contagious and made Cole chuckle, reaching over to ruffle my hair. I swatted him away, giggling.

Kai and Jay were carrying a large chest together, and Lloyd was carrying a chair in front of his face. He couldn’t see where he was going, and accidentally bumped into Jay’s arm. This caused Jay to let go of the chest, and it went crashing down onto Kai’s foot.

“Ow, ow, ow!” Kai shouted, hopping around on one foot as he clutched the other one in pain.

Jay laughed sheepishly. “Feels like home to me,” he said. “Hey, at least we get to stay in Ninjago City for a little while.”

“And now without the distractions, we can put all our energy into training Lloyd and Aurora,” Zane pointed out. He blocked the leg of the chair that Lloyd was carrying from hitting his face.

Lloyd stopped as he bumped into him. “Who’s there?”

I giggled again, going over to the chair’s other side. I grabbed the other end of it, then walked backward, helping Lloyd set it down in the corner.

Kai turned to Sensei Wu. “I know the Serpentine generals got away, but you never told us---whatever happened to Skales?”

Sensei Wu smiled knowingly. “Oh, he found a home, too. But it’s not quite as roomy as here.”

I smiled at his words. I was relieved to know that Skales wouldn’t be bothering us again anytime soon.

Although...I supposed that he was the least of our worries…


	2. Episode 14: Pirates vs Ninja

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ninja versus pirates... Who will win?
> 
> (The answer? Samurai.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here is another chapter for you amazing people, right on schedule! I have some good news: over the weekend, I finished writing all of the chapters for this book! WOOT WOOT! I've gotta tell you, this story is LONG. I write all of this in a separate word document before posting it here, and that word document for this book alone is 203 pages. 203 PAGES! That's the longest I've ever written for anything! What?! So yeah, expect a few chapters that aren't centered around an episode ;)
> 
> Anyway, I've kept you long enough. Enjoy!  
> \--------------

At last, Lloyd and I had received our wish. We were finally being properly trained, and finally learning how to be the ninja that we were destined to be.

We were all in the apartment, having immediately leapt into training after breakfast. Lloyd was going through exercises with Kai, who was wearing thick oven mitts as Lloyd punched them. I was over in the corner with Cole, running through the katas that he’d taught me and working on basic ninja moves. They were tiring, but that was only because my body wasn’t used to doing this much physical activity yet. My eagerness to learn and perfect the moves outweighed my growing fatigue, and so I worked hard to practice what little I’d been taught so far.

“Nice job,” Cole praised me as we ran through the katas. “You’re a fast learner.”

I beamed at him. “Thanks!” We ran through a few more moves, and then I gazed up at Cole curiously. “I’ve been meaning to ask, uh… Why are you wearing a pot on your head?” The earth ninja was wearing a bronze cooking pot on his head, and I just couldn’t figure out why. “Is it because you’re afraid of being hurt by a little girl?”

Cole gawked at me, then mirrored my smirk. “You wish, short stuff.”

“Hey!” I protested as I practiced my moves. “That’s not a fair insult. I’m, like, six years younger than you!”

“Seven, actually,” he corrected me, making a smug smile. I responded by sticking my tongue out at him.

Not too long after that, we paused the training for a bit so my body had a chance to rest. As I recovered, I enjoyed watching Lloyd nearby, attacking Kai’s oven mitts in a flurry of fists. I stood with Cole, Zane, and Jay as we all watched them train.

“Good, keep it up,” Kai praised.

Lloyd was having the time of his life. “Fists of fury!” he exclaimed as he rapidly punched the oven mitts. “You can’t even see ‘em move, I’m so fast! Ha!”

“Save the gloating,” Kai told him, lowering his hands. “It can only be used against you by your enemy.”

Lloyd waved his advice off. “Oh, please!” He gestured to me, then back to himself. “Aurora and I are ready to face whatever you throw at us!”

“Don’t drag me into this,” I protested, shaking my head.

Lloyd leapt up and kicked the oven mitts hard, sending Kai stumbling backwards into the frying pans that were hanging on the wall. I was actually kind of impressed.

“Whoa, grasshopper,” Kai said. “You’re not even ready to face my pinky toe.”

Sensei Wu, meanwhile, had been sitting on the floor this entire time, calmly drinking his tea as he watched us all train. After sipping his tea, he spoke. “I see the student has become the teacher,” he stated. “You and Aurora will learn fast, Lloyd, with the lessons from the four ninja.”

“Great, now that that lesson is over,” Cole announced, “how about some target practice...on Kai!”

I made a fist-pump. “Yes!” I ran over to stand by Lloyd’s side, and faced Kai, making a ready stance. Kai gulped, still slumped against the wall.

“You’ll each get your turn,” Sensei assured everyone. “But first, I don’t want you both to be late for your next lesson with Nya.”

I deflated. _Dang it, I wanted to beat up Kai!_

“Aw!” Lloyd whined. “But when will we learn Spinjitzu?”

Sensei smiled. “Ah, patience. It will only be unlocked when the key is ready to be found.”

Lloyd sighed in disappointment. I patted him on the back as we walked to our next lesson, thinking on Sensei’s words. _When the key is ready to be found…_ What did he mean by a key?

. . .

Later, the two of us were on the roof with Nya and the amazing four-headed Ultra-Dragon. Upon arriving, I had immediately run over to my dragon friend. The three heads that weren’t being attended to by Nya flocked to me, and I happily petted each of them. The poor thing was still recovering from his injuries from when he’d fought the Great Devourer, but I knew that soon he would be good as new. I’d been visiting him whenever I could.

“Now that I’ve given him his medicine, he should be able to fly properly soon,” Nya informed me and Lloyd. “But it’s important to take care of him, because one day, he’ll be yours.”

I gasped, beaming in delight. “What? Ours?!” This dragon was mine and Lloyd’s?! _No way!_

“Really?” Lloyd exclaimed, also pleasantly surprised.

Nya nodded, giggling. “Sure. The elemental dragons were loyal to the four ninja. But Ultra-Dragon, he’s meant for the Green Ninja and Yellow Ninja to ride.”

“Whoa!” Lloyd and I exclaimed in awe.

“I never knew that!” Lloyd said. 

I fondly petted the dragon’s heads. “No wonder he and I made an immediate connection when we were fighting the Great Devourer.” The dragon softly roared in response, as if agreeing with me.

“See?” Nya said. “Even a samurai like myself can teach you both a thing or two.”

Lloyd frowned. “But, uh, I don’t know how to fly.”

I grinned at him. “I can teach you!”

Lloyd smiled at me.

“Yeah,” Nya agreed. “It’s all in the legs.” She giggled when she saw me and Lloyd simultaneously glance down at our short legs. “He’ll be the fastest and strongest dragon in all of Ninjago.”

Nya and I giggled when the dragon stood up, enthusiastically flapping his wings around.

“Looks like he’s already feeling better,” Lloyd pointed out.

I waved at my dragon friend. “Go fly and be free, bud! Try to get some air!”

The Ultra-Dragon roared in farewell, flapping his wings and taking off. He soared into the sky, and I laughed as I watched him go.

“He really seems to like you, Aurora,” Nya pointed out.

I turned to her, smiling. “Yeah! We’re best buds.”

Lloyd shook his head, feigning hurt and defeat. “Wow. I’m losing my best friend to a dragon…”

Snickering, I walked over to him. “Sorry, Lloyd,” I teased. “It’s just...well, he can fly, and you can’t.”

“Oh, yeah?” Lloyd protested, playfully shoving me. I laughed, shoving him back. The shoving went back and forth for a few moments while we both laughed at our silliness.

“We should meet up with the others downstairs,” I told Lloyd, after we were done messing around.

He nodded in agreement. “Race you!” he exclaimed, taking off for the stairs. I laughed before following him.

The two of us raced each other down the spiraling flights of stairs, seeing who could reach the bottom first. To my dismay, Lloyd was running faster than I was; thanks to his unfair head start, he was already a flight below me. _If I lose to him, he’ll be bragging about it for weeks!_ I thought. _What to do…?_

That was when an idea struck me. Smirking, I grabbed the railing next to me, sat on it, and then pushed myself forward, now sliding it down the stairs. I quickly caught up with Lloyd, and flew right past him.

  
“Wha? Hey!” Lloyd shouted. “That’s cheating!”

“You never established any rules against this!” I yelled back to him, smirking in triumph.

Lloyd laughed, then copied me, hopping onto the railing as well. The two of us both slid down the railing the rest of the way down, rapidly approaching the bottom floor. Once the stairs came to an end, I leapt off the railing, landing on my feet and immediately running for the door. Lloyd was right on my tail. When I opened the door, I spotted the ninja and Sensei waiting for us. I sprinted toward them, leaping up onto Cole’s back once I reached him.

“Yes!” I cheered triumphantly. “Victory is mine!”

Cole chuckled, grabbing me and setting me down. “Easy there, speedy.”

Lloyd ran up to me, leaning over and panting hard. “I’ll...get you...next time…”

I giggled at him. He stood up straight, smiling, and exchanged a high-five with me. 

Sensei Wu smiled at the two of us, then went to the front of the group to address everyone. “It’s time we search Ninjago City for a more suitable place to train Lloyd and Aurora.”

“Oh, but Sensei, Ninjago City is huge,” Jay pointed out. “It’ll take us all day to find it on foot!”

“And without our Golden Weapons, we have no Spinjitzu vehicles,” Zane added. “How are we going to get around town?”

Sensei pulled out a few small, circular objects from behind his back. “You’ll learn to travel with these.”

We all looked at them in wonder. “What are those?” Cole asked him.

“They can transport you anywhere you want to go in the city,” Sensei explained.

“Like a magic portal?” Cole guessed excitedly.

“Ooh! Or a Spinjitzu vortex?” Jay exclaimed.

I walked up and grabbed one of the coins, examining it closely. To my disappointment, I recognized it, and immediately knew that it wasn’t anything too special. “Uh, guys?” I said, frowning as I held up the token. “These are bus tokens.”

Sensei chuckled, amused by our reactions.

. . .

After a nice bus ride, Lloyd, the ninja, and I all got off when we spotted what looked like a dojo. We all piled onto the sidewalk, gazing up at the sign hanging above the door. In yellow lettering, it boldly said “ _Grand Sensei Dareth’s Mojo Dojo_.”

“ _This_ is where Lloyd and Aurora are going to train?” Cole asked incredulously.

Jay chuckled. “It’s better than our dumpy apartment,” he pointed out.

I didn’t know what they were complaining about. This place looked kind of cool to me from the outside, and I was excited to have a better place to train.

We all ventured inside the dojo. Inside, it was normal-looking. I’d never been in a dojo before, but I assumed that this was what they normally looked like. It was very brown inside; I didn’t see much of any other color. After we entered, a man walked into the room from behind a curtain of beads. He had glossy brown hair, brown robes, and a stylish chain hanging from his neck.

He entered the room dramatically. “Welcome to Grand Sensei Dareth’s Mojo Dojo,” he greeted. “I am Grand Sensei Dareth. And I dare-th you to join my dojo!” He then struck a wild fighting pose, yelling “Hee-ya!” He then did what I assumed were a bunch of fighting moves, twirling around and eventually getting himself stuck in his own bead curtain behind him.

We all watched in confusion and astonishment. I turned to the side and facepalmed. _Um… Well, he’s really...unique._ That was one way to put it, I guess.

Dareth managed to untangle himself, and walked over to where multiple shelves of trophies were hanging on the wall. “Face the wall of karate trophies,” he boasted dramatically. “If you look closely, my name is on all of them. That is because I am a highly-skilled karate machine.”

_Highly-skilled?_ I held back a smirk. _Not from what we just saw._

Kai put a hand on my back and on Lloyd’s back, nudging us forward with him. “Look, Dareth, we’re wondering if we could share your dojo. You see, we’ve been put in charge of training these little ones to become the greatest ninjas in all of Ninjago.” He gestured to me and Lloyd.

“Not possible, for I am the greatest in the land,” Dareth argued pompously. “How many trophies do _you_ have?”

Jay scowled. “Look, pal, we’re the guys that just saved the city from the giant snake.”

Dareth chuckled. “Heh. Am I looking at Lord Garmadon? Because unless I’m stupid--and I’m not--Lord Garmadon destroyed the Devourer.”

I sighed. _So does nobody care what the ninja did to save the city?_

“That’s been a huge misunderstanding,” Jay informed him. “Actually, we were the ones who dest---”

“I’ll let you train here,” Dareth announced, cutting Jay off, “but only on one condition.” He smirked, pointing to himself. “You can defeat me. If you succeed, we will share the dojo.” He cried out, striking a pose. “That’s right, I, Grand Sensei Dareth, master of all animal fighting styles, challenge one of you to a battle!”

Wow, he really seemed to think highly of himself. _Just wait until the ninja knock him down a peg._ I was already mourning for Dareth’s dignity.

“I know the tiger. Rawr!” Dareth got down on all fours, snarling and acting as if he were flexing imaginary claws. “The python.” He stood back up, waving his arms in the air and twisting his body like a snake. “Penguin. Awk, awk!” He chattered his teeth, waddling rapidly from side to side. During all of this, he looked absolutely ridiculous, and I had to try hard not to snicker at him. I knew his ego would probably take a hit.

Kai smirked, pulling his mask on. He smashed his fists together, then spun into his fiery tornado of Spinjitzu, charging at Dareth. The poor guy screamed as he was caught up in the vortex, being violently spun around by Kai. After a few seconds, Kai decided Dareth had had enough and stopped, stepping to the side as his tornado disappeared. Dareth spun around on the ground before coming to a stop, only ceasing his screaming when he did stop. Once again, I had to try very hard not to laugh.

He looked up at Kai in amazement. “How did you…?”

“You might know animals, but we know Spinjitzu,” Kai stated proudly.

Dareth picked himself up off the ground, then smiled. “You can train in my dojo anytime.”

. . .

Not too long later, after Nya and Sensei Wu had rejoined us, the ninja continued on with our training.

Lloyd and I were perched atop tall logs of wood, each of us balancing on one leg. Jay stood before us in the same position, and none of us said a word. It was actually pretty peaceful.

Suddenly, Lloyd leapt forward in an attempt to attack Jay. He was a little slow, as we could only use one leg to stand at a time, and Jay easily moved out of the way.

“You must be light on your feet,” Jay instructed.

He jumped to attack Lloyd, narrowly missing him with his foot. Lloyd kept trying to hit Jay, but kept losing his balance. After taking a deep breath, I leapt to attack Jay, thinking light thoughts. I swung my fist at Jay, but he blocked it. I kept moving, leaping over Jay’s head and trying to hit him again and again. Lloyd kept trying to attack him, too. At one point, neither of us were paying attention, and we crashed into each other. The two of us went tumbling down onto the floor, groaning as we landed.

Jay looked down at us, smiling. “Good job!” he praised. “Aurora, you just need to practice maintaining your balance, but other than that you’ve got it. Lloyd, you just need to work on your footing a little more, and you’ve got it too.”

Later on, Cole instructed us in a test of strength. He set up two tables next to each other and stacked seven sturdy wooden boards on each of them. Lloyd stood facing one table, and I faced the other. I was doubting myself a little bit---I mean, how in the world was I expected to break all those boards? I could barely open soda bottles on my own!

“When you strike with your fists, concentrate,” he told us. “You both may be small, but you’re strong.”

I breathed in deeply, realizing that he was right. _Cole thinks we can do it, so we can!_

Lloyd and I exchanged a look, smiling and nodding at one another. We’d do this together, like we did everything. We both stepped up to our separate tables, and the ninja all gathered around to watch. I closed my eyes, putting my fists together and concentrating. _You may be small, but you’re strong._ Cole’s words echoed through my head. _You can do this, Aurora. You’re strong like the earth…_

As soon as I was ready, I striked. Apparently, Lloyd was ready at the same time I was, and he moved when I did. We practically mirrored each other as we both leapt up into the air, crying out. I swung my fist down onto the stack of boards as hard as I could, and I felt a rush of power flow through me. When my fist connected, the entire stack of boards, and the table, were broken completely in half. The floor was also impacted, and a large crack was left from the force of my strike. The aftershocks of both mine and Lloyd’s impacts pushed the four ninja away, sending them either crashing into a wall or falling on their backs. Only Sensei seemed unaffected, calmly drinking his tea in the corner like nothing had happened.

_Whoa! No way!_ I exchanged a shocked look with Lloyd. “W-Was that supposed to happen?” I asked no one in particular, still in disbelief that I’d even done that.

“You bet it was!” Jay exclaimed.

“That was the power of the Staff of Quakes,” Kai told us, amazed. “And you both did it without the Golden Weapon!”

I looked down at my hands in awe, marveling at myself. _But...my hands are so small…_ They held that much power in them?

Zane smiled. “That must be why you have the potential to be the greatest ninjas. You both can harness all of the elemental powers!”

“Really?” I replied, half in disbelief and half in amazement.

“Cool!” Lloyd exclaimed. He and I exchanged looks of delight.

Sensei spoke up from the corner. “With this power, you must be careful,” he told us. “You both must control it before it controls you.”

_Before it controls us, huh?_ I frowned. _I wonder if I have any other powers…_

The bead curtain shook, and Dareth strutted in. Two kids around my age followed him, both wearing white robes. I assumed they were students of his. “I have to admit, not bad for a couple of kids,” Dareth stated. “But instead of ten boards, how about fifty? Stack ‘em, boys.”

His students carried in tall stacks of wooden boards. Sensei sighed deeply, shaking his head in annoyance.

Dareth continued talking as his students stacked the boards on top of two cinderblocks. “And perhaps if I, Grand Sensei Dareth, can break through them all, you will allow me to join your team and become…” He paused dramatically, shoving a homemade gi mask over his head before turning around and posing. “The Brown Ninja!”

Jay and I both snickered. “The Brown Ninja?” Jay echoed in amusement. “You gotta be joking.”

“Sorry, pal,” Cole said. “Club’s already full.”

“Okay, okay,” Dareth replied. “Then maybe this demonstration of my superhuman strength may persuade you. Jeffy, Phil, are we ready?”

The two boys behind him grinned in excitement, bowing in respect. “Yes, Grand Sensei Dareth!”

Dareth walked over to the tall stack of boards. “Observe.” He struck a pose, slowly moving his arms around like he was gathering power. “I call upon the greatest animal to give me strength: the dragon! Hee-yah!”

We watched as he yelled, then brought his fist down, striking the pile of wood as hard as he could. The dull smack that sounded as it impacted made me cringe; none of the boards had broken, which meant that his hand had taken the full force of his blow. Dareth was quiet for a long moment, and I could see his hand grow red. Then, he loudly screamed in pain, holding his hand and jumping around from how much it hurt. Everyone laughed hysterically at him; sure, it was wrong for us to enjoy his pain, but he had done something stupid to deserve it, so it was okay. Dareth looked down in embarrassment, and I kind of felt bad for him.

_Guess he isn’t used to being shown up all the time._ Perhaps later on, when I’d completed my training, I’d show him a move or two.

After that display, it was decided that our day’s training was done---mainly because we were all hungry. So, we left the dojo to head back to our apartment for dinner.

We didn’t make it too far, after taking two steps out of the dojo, we heard screaming and sounds of panic. I looked up, and almost couldn’t believe what I saw flying down the street. It was the Destiny’s Bounty, our very own ship! It was also crawling with pirates, who were robbing the poor citizens down below.

I pointed up at it. “Guys! It’s the Bounty!”

Jay gasped. “She’s right! It’s our ship!”

“But...pirates?” Lloyd asked.

“Pirates haven’t been around for centuries,” Cole stated.

Zane shook his head. “I sense Lord Garmadon is somehow behind this.”

“How are we gonna follow them?” Lloyd asked.

Kai pulled out a bus token, smiling. “Perhaps this can be of some use.” Right on cue, a bus pulled up next to us. Kai immediately leapt aboard, facing the driver. “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but follow that ship!”

The rest of us scurried on board, and the bus driver floored it, pursuing the Destiny’s Bounty. We all stood in the aisle near the front, pulling on our masks as the bus sped after the ship. Lloyd and I exchanged looks of excitement. _We get to fight pirates!_ I thought in delight.

As if sensing what I was thinking, Kai looked at me and Lloyd, sighing. “I don’t like the kids coming along,” he said to the others. “It’s too dangerous.”

“Aw, come on, Kai!” I pleaded with him, grabbing his arm and giving him puppy eyes.

“Please, please!” Lloyd begged, jumping up and down. “We’ll be super good!”

I nodded in agreement. “We’ll stay out of trouble!”

Zane kneeled down to our level, putting a hand on each of our shoulders. “The powers inside you both are still too great, too uncontrollable,” he gently explained.

“One of these days, you’ll be able to join us,” Cole promised. “Sorry, kids.”

Lloyd sighed in disappointment, plopping down into a seat. I sat next to him, moping as I crossed my arms. The four ninja leapt into action, climbing onto the top of the bus. A few minutes later, the bus halted abruptly, and I saw an old woman crossing the road directly in front of us.

“Come on, people!” I heard Jay shout from outside the bus. “We’re trying to save the city here.”

We watched as the old woman crossed the road as slowly as possible.

“It’s getting away!” Cole shouted, watching the ship grow further and further away from us.

To make matters worse, the old woman’s grocery bag broke, and its contents went spilling out onto the road. She had to stop and pick them all back up, making everyone sigh.

I stood next to Lloyd as we waited for the bus to move. The ninja eventually went on ahead, not able to wait for the bus anymore. I thought to myself. _I really wanna help the ninja! But...they said that it’s too dangerous, that our powers are too unstable…_ I trusted their word, but that didn’t mean I had to like it. _There must be some other way Lloyd and I can help!_ I wracked my brain for ideas. After a few long moments, I had an idea. “Aha!” I exclaimed aloud.

Lloyd turned to me in confusion. “What is it, Rose?”

I smirked at him. “Your brilliant best friend just had a brilliant idea,” I boasted. “I know how you and I can help without actually disobeying the ninja.”

“Really?” Lloyd asked, looking hopeful. “How?”

I faced forward as the bus started moving. “We’re gonna need another friend of ours…”

Once the bus went by our apartment, I asked the bus driver to stop. Lloyd and I hopped off, and he followed me as I scurried up the stairs, all the way up to the roof. When I burst through the door and onto the rooftop, I smiled at the sight of the white four-headed dragon that roared to greet us.

“Aurora, you’re a genius!” Lloyd told me, once he realized what I had in mind.

I scoffed and waved my hand. “Aw, stop.” I smiled, beckoning Lloyd over to the Ultra-Dragon with me. “Now I can teach you how to fly!”

I scurried over to the dragon, but Lloyd was less enthusiastic. “Uh...are you sure?” he inquired, frowning as he walked after me. “You saw what happened the last time I tried to fly something…”

“Oh, you’ll be fine!” I assured him. I giggled as the four dragon heads curled around me, greeting me happily as I patted them. “Flying a dragon isn’t _too_ different than flying a ship. Just do what I do, and you’ll do great!” I turned to the dragon, smiling at him. “Hey, bud, we’ve got a mission. You wanna help?”

The Ultra-Dragon roared enthusiastically. He turned so that the saddle was facing us, clearly wanting us to climb aboard.

I giggled at his response. “Alright! Knew I could count on you!” Hopping aboard, I grabbed ahold of the reins and turned to Lloyd. “Come on, Lloyd! Hop on!”

Lloyd steeled himself, nodding in determination. He grabbed my offered hand and climbed onto the dragon’s back, sitting behind me.

“Okay, just watch what I do,” I told him, smiling in encouragement. “Like Nya said, it’s all in the legs---even our short legs can do the job.” Gripping the reins tightly, I gently nudged the dragon’s sides. “Let’s go, bud!”

The Ultra-Dragon roared in excitement, flapping his wings and taking off into the air. I whooped in delight, and Lloyd cried out at the sudden takeoff, grabbing onto my waist in fear of falling off. Once the dragon leveled out, his grip loosened, and he smiled beneath his mask. I looked back to see him looking around and down in awe, laughing in delight.

“This is amazing!” he shouted over the wind.

“I know, right?!” I replied, laughing with him. “It’s even better the second time around!”

Me and the Ultra-Dragon worked in sync, and I maneuvered him over the city. I spotted Lloyd paying attention to how I flew the dragon, just like I told him to. It didn’t take us long to spot the big, obvious ship flying over Ninjago City, and we beelined for it, hoping we could still help.

As we grew nearer, I heard screaming. Looking down, I spotted a brown figure plummeting toward the ground, screaming hysterically.

“Is that Dareth?” Lloyd asked.

“I think so,” I replied, shaking my head. “Come on, bud, let’s save him!”

The dragon roared as he swooped down, flying to rescue Dareth just like we’d rescued Nya and Lloyd from the Great Devourer. We gracefully swooped downward, and the dragon caught Dareth in one of its mouths.

“Woo-hoo!” Lloyd and I cheered in triumph.

We heard Dareth yell hysterically from where he was being carried. “I-I-I called the dragon,” he exclaimed as we swooped upward. “I called the dragon!” He laughed loudly, and I had to chuckle at his reaction.

I steered the dragon over to where Dareth’s dojo was, safely depositing him on the roof. He waved as Lloyd and I took off again, flying back over to where the Destiny’s Bounty hovered in the air. As we grew closer, we could see the four ninja in an intense battle with the crew of pirates. The battle was awesome, and looked like so much fun… Would it really be better if Lloyd and I stayed out of it? Extra help wouldn’t hurt, right?

Turning to Lloyd, I found that he seemed to be thinking the same thing I was. “Well, we _are_ here to help,” he pointed out logically.

I sighed, smiling. “Ah, they’ll be scolding us for coming anyway. Might as well.” I maneuvered the dragon to fly over the ship. “Ready?”

“Oh yeah!” Lloyd replied, pressing his fists together.

The two of us stood up, then leapt off the dragon’s back, soaring downward. We both dived for a rope hanging from the sails; Lloyd grabbed onto it first, and I grabbed onto it below him. Together, we swung the rope around the side, letting it swing us towards the deck.

“Ninja, go!”

Lloyd crashed into Zane and the pirate captain, and I slammed into a pirate standing on the other side of the mast. The pirate captain didn’t stay down for long, and stood up, facing Lloyd.

“Pirate, go!” he shouted, stealing our catchphrase and swinging his sword at Lloyd.

Before I could rush to stop him, Kai beat me to it, crashing into the captain’s sword with his own and blocking his attack. I ran around them and stood by Lloyd, and Kai fought the captain.

“Lloyd, Aurora, you’re not supposed to be here!” Kai scolded us.

I smiled sheepishly. “Sorry, Kai! We couldn’t help ourselves!”

As Kai fought the pirates off, I leapt out of the way. He paused for a moment to grab Lloyd and dump him head-first into a nearby barrel. If the situation wasn’t so dire, I would’ve laughed. _Was that really necessary?_

Lloyd struggled inside the barrel. Eventually, he managed to make the barrel fall onto its side.

“Hang on, Lloyd!” I shouted to him. “I’ll get you out!”

He managed to stand up, the barrel covering everything but his feet. “No time!” he told me.

I scurried to the side, where hopefully the pirates wouldn’t notice me. Wanting to turn his situation into an advantage, I decided to try and guide him around. “Run forward, Lloyd!” I yelled. “Straight forward!”

Yelling a battle cry, Lloyd did as I told him to and charged forward. He crashed into one of the pirates that Kai was fighting, knocking him over. He also accidentally hit the lever that made the anchor go down, but that was okay for now.

“Jump left!” I shouted.

Lloyd jumped left, knocking another pirate over. I fist-pumped, glad that this was actually working. Lloyd lost his balance and fell onto his side, the barrel rolling across the deck. Kai had to jump on top of the barrel to avoid being hit by it, and wobbled as it rolled toward the railing. To my horror, he was accidentally thrown off of the ship, and went hurtling down toward the city below. I ran to the side and peered over it, only to see that he had grabbed onto the anchor and was alright. I sighed in relief.

Turning back to the battle, I saw Lloyd--still in the barrel--being chased around by the pirate captain, who was swinging his sword at him (Later, I would learn that his name was Soto).

“Come here, you blurry little munchkin!” Soto growled, jabbing his sword at Lloyd. 

Lloyd didn’t even need my guidance to dodge his attacks, hopping left and right as he avoided all of Soto’s enraged attacks. Then, he stopped in one spot, and I watched him curiously. “Ninja, go!” he shouted, spinning himself around. My eyes widened as I saw him spin faster and faster, almost at an inhuman speed. As he spun around Captain Soto, I gasped when his spinning formed a sparkly green tornado, making the captain back up in surprise. It only stayed for a few seconds, but it was unmistakable.

Lloyd had just done Spinjitzu.

“Whoa!” Lloyd exclaimed as he stopped. “Spinjitzu! Did you see that, Aurora? I just did Spinjitzu for the first time!”

I was about to cheer for him, when I saw Soto raise his sword. “Lloyd, look out!” I shouted.

I ran over to them, but wasn’t fast enough to stop Soto from hitting the back of Lloyd’s head with his sword’s pommel. Lloyd fell onto the anchor switch again, making it rise back up to the ship. I ran straight at Soto at full speed, leaping on him and punching him in the stomach. It didn’t really hurt him, but it did knock him away from Lloyd. I helped Lloyd to his feet as we were joined by Jay, Zane, and Cole, who had dispatched the other pirates for now. Kai appeared over the side of the ship, climbing back on and joining us as we all cornered Soto.

Before anyone else attacked, Lloyd put his hands close together, beginning to form a glowing orb of energy between them. It grew bigger and bigger, and eventually engulfed him. Sensei Wu’s words rang through my head, advising us about how we needed to control our powers before they controlled us. I think I understood what he meant now; Lloyd and I had barely even scratched the surface of our elemental powers. There was no way we could fully control them yet.

“Lloyd, don’t!” Kai shouted. “Your powers are too uncontrollable!”

“Listen to him!” I tried to warn him, but he was already summoning his elemental energy. _What is Lloyd thinking?_ He was probably too caught up in the moment. I knew I would be, too, if I were him.

Lloyd tried to throw the glowing orb of energy at the pirates, but it ended up flying backwards, crashing into the mast behind us. It made a cracking noise, and began leaning our way.

_Uh oh!_ I didn’t think, I just acted. I scurried out of its way, finding refuge behind another barrel off to the side. Turning back to the others, I saw the ninja running away with the pirates, trying to escape the falling mast. I scolded myself for not at least dragging Lloyd with me out of harm’s way. The pirates were all able to clear the falling sail and mast, but the ninja were trapped beneath it, and I watched in horror as it crashed onto them all. I remained hidden, watching to see what would happen. Thankfully, none of the pirates noticed me hiding yet.

The ninja and Lloyd all crawled out from underneath the rubble, and to my relief, they all looked to be safe and sound, if only a little dazed. Unfortunately, they were met with the sight of Soto and his pirates standing on the rubble on top of them, grinning down at them evilly.

“You lose, pajama people,” Soto declared.

A surge of bravery flowed through me, and I leapt to my feet. _Why am I hiding? I need to save them!_ It didn’t matter that there was a crew of seasoned pirates against me; I wasn’t about to let them hurt the ones I cared about! Plus, I’d stared down Serpentine and survived---compared to that, this was nothing!

I charged at the pirates. “Stay away from my family!” I shouted as I ran at them. My body moved on its own, and I found myself leaping up at them and spinning in midair. “Ninja, go!” Right before I hit the nearest pirate, a bright yellow light swirled around me, and I gasped in shock. A yellow tornado formed around me, spinning rapidly as I crashed into the group of pirates. I was at the tornado’s center, and I found it to be surprisingly slow and calm, kind of like the eye of the storm.

Just as quickly as the yellow spinning vortex had come, it vanished, leaving me standing on the deck. “No way!” I exclaimed, grinning in glee. “I did it, too! I did Spinjitzu!” Amidst my cheering, I noticed a bunch of angry pirates glaring at me. I’d only knocked a few of them down, and the rest were leering at me threateningly. I laughed nervously, giving them a shy wave. “Hey, how’s it going?” I asked, my voice a little squeaky from fear.

Captain Soto laughed as his pirates pointed their swords at me and the other ninja. “Now you’re all walking the plank!” he stated, his crew laughing with him.

I gulped as the pirates approached me. _So much for my rescue attempt…_

Suddenly, a loud thump cut off the pirates’ laughter. It repeated again and again, and everyone looked around in confusion. Something then grabbed onto the Bounty, and I turned to see the glorious sight of Samurai X climbing onto the deck.

I laughed in relief. “Nya!” I exclaimed gleefully.

The pirates yelled in fear, scattering around the ship. Nya grabbed the ship’s mast, picked it up, slammed it down so all the pirates fell onto their backs, and then set it back in its rightful place. The ninja all stood back up, and I ran back to Lloyd’s side. Just like that, the pirates had all been defeated. We all approached Captain Soto, who was laying face-down on the deck, struggling to pick himself up.

Nya hopped out of her exo-suit, spinning a samurai shuriken in her hands. She hopped off, cutting a hole in the sail with the blade as she descended. She landed right on top of Soto, who had almost stood back up, and struck a mighty pose.

“You’re the best, Nya!” I praised her.

Jay walked up to her. “Who wins between pirates and ninja? It’s samurai!”

Nya laughed at his words. Jay sighed in admiration, looking up at her with lovestruck eyes. I could practically see the hearts in them. Lloyd and I exchanged a disgusted look, both making a quiet “Eww” noise.

. . .

It took time, but eventually we were able to get all of the pirates into police custody. We now stood on the street, watching as they were being taken away.

“Good work, team,” a police officer praised us, smiling.

Kai patted me and Lloyd on our backs. “Don’t forget to include these two,” he said. He ruffled Lloyd’s hair and then mine, making me giggle and smile up at him. I’d gladly take a hair ruffling over a scolding any day.

The police officer looked up. “Uh, that your ship?” he asked us, pointing upward at the Destiny’s Bounty.

“It sure is,” Jay stated proudly.

Suddenly, the Bounty’s engines roared to life, and it lifted off the ground. I looked up in surprise, and saw none other than Lord Garmadon standing on the deck, surrounded by the Serpentine.

“Sorry,” he shouted down at us. “You snooze, you lose.”

“Lord Garmadon!” Kai growled.

“Dad!” Lloyd cried, gazing up at his father.

Lord Garmadon turned his gaze to his son. “You and your friend are becoming stronger, son, but you’ll never be strong enough to defeat me! Give up, before it’s too late.”

Lloyd’s mouth hung agape, and he hung his head. Perhaps, for the first time, he was coming to realize that his own father was truly against him. He and I would have to fight him some day---it was a terrible thought, but it was our destiny. No matter what happened, I knew that I would stand with Lloyd every step of the way, and be right at his side when the day of the final battle arrived.

Lloyd turned to look at me, Nya, and the ninja, only to see that we were all already smiling confidently at him. The sight of our belief in him made him smile, too. He looked up at his father again, this time with a smile of confidence and defiance. He stepped closer to the group, and grabbed my hand when he stood by my side. I gripped it in return, smiling up at Lord Garmadon with everyone else.

_That’s right,_ I told him silently. _We’re all in this together. Someday, we’ll defeat you---and we’ll do it as a team._

“Have it your way,” Lord Garmadon stated as he flew away. “Another day, ninja! Another day!”

We heard him cackling as he took off on our ship, blasting off into the sunset.

“Ah, great,” Jay groaned. “Lord Garmadon is back, and now he’s got our ship.”

Cole smiled. “Well, at least we’ve got these little guys.” He threw each of his arms around our shoulders. I giggled and smiled back at him, glad for his support.

That was when Dareth approached us, whistling nonchalantly. He was trying to be sneaky, walking up behind Jay to attack him. Just before he striked, Jay reached behind him and flipped him over his shoulder, throwing him onto the ground in front of us. Dareth landed smack on his rear.

He turned to us, seemingly embarrassed. “Oh, come on, guys,” he said. “I dare-th you to forgive me.”

His words made us all laugh loudly. Lloyd and I walked up to him, putting our hands on his shoulders and smiling down at him. Even though he was a klutz and kind of annoying, Dareth was our friend now. 

Dare-th I even say, he was part of the team.


	3. Episode 15: Double Trouble

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You go to school, you pick up a thing or two.
> 
> Who knew that little boys could be so deceptive and evil?
> 
> ...Oh, wait. Nevermind. I should've seen this coming.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those of you who are wondering about Aurora’s elemental power: after much deliberation and debates with myself, I have decided to make her element the element of light. Not only do I think that this fits her personality very well, but it also ties in with her destiny and role as a ninja of legend (and fits well into later events I have planned...mwahahaha). 
> 
> I have done my research, and yes, I do know that there is a supposed “master of light” in season 4 (the invisible guy called Paleman). Using the powers at my disposal--and my artistic license--I have altered this. Instead of being the master of light, Paleman will now be the master of invisibility in my story. I feel like this classification suits him better, as all I’ve seen him do in the show with his light powers is summon a light dragon and make himself invisible all the time. He’s also not really a prominent main character. It would make more sense for Aurora to be the master of light in this story.
> 
> I apologize if you don’t agree with this or if it seems stupid, but this IS fanfiction; everyone has free reign (which is both good and bad lol). That’s why so many of us write! Besides, the world of Ninjago is full of continuity errors. Why not add another one to the pile?
> 
> Anyway, just wanted to let you guys know that before the chapter started! I hope you all enjoy it!  
> \---------------

“It is time you learned of your own elemental power.”

Inside Dareth’s dojo, I sat next to the large window, my legs folded underneath me. Sensei Wu sat across from me, calmly sipping his tea like always. Today was another day of training to become one of the greatest ninja ever, and right now, the lesson was centered on elemental powers.

I gave Sensei Wu a confused look. “You mean, the elemental powers that the ninja use? Lightning, earth, fire, and ice?” We’d already discovered that Lloyd and I could apparently use these.

He nodded. “Yes, those are elemental abilities that you are able to harness. But what I am referring to is your own unique element---the element that only you are able to use.”

My eyes widened, and I leaned forward in curiosity. “Really? What is it?”

“I believe that your element is light,” Sensei Wu revealed. He then gestured to Lloyd across the room, who was being instructed by Jay. “And, as you may have already guessed, Lloyd’s element is energy.”

_ Light and energy… _ My eyes widened, and I made a soft noise of awe.  _ I control light?! That’s so cool!  _ Looking back up at Sensei Wu, I asked, “So, what can my light do?”

The old sensei sipped his tea before responding. “Like Lloyd, you can manifest it into a physical form and use it to fight. However, your element has many other uses as well. You could potentially control the lights in a room, or how brightly a source of light glows.” He stroked his beard in thought.

“Whoa,” I gasped, trying to comprehend it all for a second. “So, I can use my light to help others, too?”

“Of course,” Sensei Wu confirmed. “As the prophecy says, it is the duty of the Yellow Ninja to help the Green Ninja. Only together can you one day defeat the dark lord.”

My elemental power sounded pretty neat. Gazing at Lloyd nearby, my mind processed all of the new information. Currently, Lloyd was practicing harnessing his energy with Jay. He was holding a light bulb, trying to make it light up without shattering it. I heard him grunting in concentration as he tried his hardest to make it work.

Jay walked up behind him. “Focus, Lloyd,” he instructed. “Control the energy inside you. When you feel a surge welling up...harness it.”

Lloyd smiled. “I understand.” He turned back to the light bulb. “I am in control…” He tightened his grip on the light bulb, staring down at it intensely. The inside began to slowly glow brighter and brighter.

Sensei Wu and I stood up, walking over to watch Lloyd with the others. I debated on whether or not to try and use my element of light to help him out, but decided against it. This was his lesson. Besides, I had never used my power before; I’d have no idea where to begin. I instead silently cheered him on, crossing my fingers.

“Come on, Lloyd,” Jay encouraged. “You can do it.”

Lloyd poured his energy into the light bulb, making it glow brightly. Then, the bulb abruptly shattered, the overflow of energy proving to be too much for it.

“Argh!” Lloyd exclaimed. “Stupid light bulb!” He turned to the ninja. “You’re putting too much pressure on me. Let me have one more try.”

Kai sighed. “Sorry Lloyd, that was the last light bulb.”

Lloyd looked down at the scattered shards of glass around him, remains from the several light bulbs he had tried to light up but had exploded instead. He frowned in defeat.

Cole walked up to him, smiling. “Clean up, Lloyd. We’ll continue training tomorrow.” He handed Lloyd a broom to clean up with.

Instead of cleaning up right away, Lloyd stomped over to a punching bag, whacking it with the broom. I shook my head, sidestepping the glass and walking over to Lloyd in case he wanted to talk. I listened to the ninja talk behind me as Lloyd violently whacked the punching bag.

Jay sighed. “What am I doing wrong, Sensei Wu? I can’t seem to teach him to control his power.”

Lloyd threw the broom at the punching bag, but it bounced off and hit him, making him fall onto his back. “You dare to defy the Green Ninja!” he shouted at the bag, as if it had intended to attack him.

I snickered at him. “Punching bag: two, Lloyd: zero.”

My words only seemed to make him grow more frustrated, and he kept punching and kicking the poor bag.

“Patience, Jay,” Sensei Wu told the lightning ninja. “Sometimes the greatest opponent we face is ourselves, and that’s especially true of Lloyd. Remember where he came from.” He walked away with Jay, but I could still hear their conversation. “He’s the son of Lord Garmadon. It’s going to take time for him to embrace the light.”

He was right, I realized. I remembered an old proverb that I read somewhere, talking about how we were our own worst enemy. And Lloyd… Well, not too long ago, he was intent on being an evil mastermind and taking over all of Ninjago. That only changed when he and I were taken in by the ninja, and when he discovered that he was the Green Ninja.

Still, I had always seen the good in Lloyd. Even when he was releasing Serpentine and sicking them on his enemies, I could still see the good heart he had deep inside. I knew that his light was in there somewhere---it only needed to be allowed to shine through. And nobody could do that but Lloyd.

The door opened, and Nya walked in. “Hey, guys!” she greeted.

“Hey, Nya!” the four ninja greeted her.

Nya walked up to Jay, almost shyly. “Hey, Jay, wanna come by the auto body shop later?”

“Uh, the auto body shop?” Jay echoed, smiling at her.

“Yeah, I got a part-time job,” Nya explained. “Thought I could fix the Ultra Sonic Radar in my off time. Maybe if you come over, I can show you what I’ve been working on.” I spotted an envelope in her hand as she talked.

Jay smiled. “Ah, sure!” He chuckled nervously, then glanced at the envelope. “Uh, what have you got there?”

“Oh, um, this letter came for Lloyd,” she said.

Now my curiosity was piqued. I listened even closer now, but still aided Lloyd when he finally decided to clean up the shards of glass on the floor.

Nya handed the letter to Sensei, who hummed curiously. “It’s from Lloyd’s old school,” he announced.

“The Darkly School for Bad Boys?” Cole inquired.

_ The one he got kicked out of? _ I thought, wisely choosing not to say it aloud. Lloyd still didn’t know that I knew that about him…

“Formerly bad boys,” Sensei corrected him. “Since the last time we were there, they’ve changed to the Darkly School for Great Children.”

Kai snorted. “Wait, they’ve turned good?”

Sensei glanced at the letter. “Hmm. It says here there’s going to be a ceremony.”

“I love ceremonies!” Cole exclaimed, elbowing Kai. “That means there’s going to be cake.”

“Lloyd’s change inspired them,” Sensei read. “Now they’ve invited Lloyd to give him an honorary degree in excellence.”

Just as they said that, Lloyd decided to break the broom over his knee. He then leapt at the punching bag, headbutting it and falling on the ground.

I facepalmed at his behavior. “Lloyd, what are you even doing?” I asked incredulously.

Kai walked up next to me. “Are we sure we’re talking about the same Lloyd?” he wondered, watching Lloyd in puzzlement.

I shook my head. Yes, I fully believed in Lloyd, and knew he would do great things someday. But...sometimes it was hard to believe that he was destined to become one of the greatest ninja ever.

. . .

Soon enough, Lloyd, the ninja, and I were all on our way to Darkly’s. We flew on the back of the Ultra-Dragon, with me and Lloyd at the reins as the ninja sat behind us. Although, I was relenting more control to him so that he could learn for himself how to properly fly the dragon. And so far, he was doing a pretty good job.

“Woo-hoo-hoo!” Jay cheered as we soared above the clouds.

I smiled, definitely sharing his excitement. Just like always when I rode on the Ultra-Dragon, I had the time of my life.  _ This was something I only ever dreamed of back at the orphanage. _ I’d never even known dragons actually existed until I met the ninja.  _ If you went back in time and told me that I’d be here one day, I would’ve laughed in your face. _

“Now that we can ride the dragon, we should get to Darkly’s in no time,” Jay stated.

Kai frowned. “If Lloyd can get us there in one piece. Can’t Aurora drive? She has more experience with flying than he does.”

I turned back to address Kai. “It’ll be fine, Kai! Lloyd can do this, he just needs practice.” Facing Lloyd again, I put a hand on his arm. “Now, remember what I told you. Be gentle. Any sudden moves can cause him to---”

“Any sudden what?” Lloyd shouted at me, pulling up on the reins as he did.

The dragon jolted, arced downward, and suddenly began plummeting straight for the ground. We all screamed, the wind rushing in our faces as we nosedived.

“Lloyd, the reins!” I yelled at Lloyd, gesturing to them. “Let go of the reins! Hurry!”

Lloyd let go of them just in time, right before we crashed into the school. The dragon leveled out, but still wobbled as he descended. I grabbed the reins to help guide him to land. The Ultra-Dragon landed safely in front of the school, and the ninja sitting behind me and Lloyd all breathed heavily in relief.

After patting the dragon fondly, I slid off him, landing on the ground and pulling my mask off. Lloyd followed me, also pulling his mask off. “Heh-heh,” he laughed sheepishly. “At least I’m getting better. I’m not as good as you, Rose, but I’m getting there.”

I nodded at him, smiling. “You’re definitely improving, Lloyd.”

Cole followed us as we walked to the entrance. “All the same, I’ll take the reins going home. Just to be safe.”

I shook my head at him. We all walked up to the open gate in the wall surrounding the school. Gazing upward, I saw the sign above the gate that boldly proclaimed the school’s name. I felt a small wave of nostalgia; last time we were here, Pythor betrayed Lloyd and the ninja took us in. That felt like a lifetime ago, even though in reality it had only been a few months.

Lloyd was gazing up at the sign, too, as if remembering his time here. I nudged him. “This is where you grew up, right?” I asked him.

He nodded. “Yep. Sure is…” I could hear a lot of different emotions in his voice.

When we all stepped inside the courtyard, I spotted a raven-haired boy near the doors, tending to some flowers. He turned around as we approached, and smiled. “Lloyd?” he inquired.

Lloyd stopped, frowning. “Uh, Brad?”

“You came!” The boy--Brad--ran over to Lloyd, hugging him tightly. “So good to see you!”

“It is?” Lloyd asked after Brad stepped away. “You put fire ants in my bed.”

I nearly snorted.  _ He did what? _

Brad frowned. “Please forgive me,” he pleaded. “I wasn’t myself, and have learned the error of my ways.” He then looked behind Lloyd, smiling as he spotted me and the other ninja. “And you must be the ninja!”

Lloyd turned back to us, smiling even though he seemed a little uncertain. “Uh, Aurora, guys, meet Brad Tudabone.”

“Such a huge fan!” Brad gushed. “Go good!” He laughed in excitement, walking up to the guys and shaking each of their hands. He then arrived at me, reaching for my hand. “And you’re Aurora, right?”

I smiled, shaking his outstretched hand. Lloyd was wary of him for obvious reasons, but I still wanted to give him a chance. “Yeah, that’s me,” I told him, chuckling nervously.

Brad smiled widely at me. “Nice to meet you! You sure are pretty!”

My cheeks heated up, and I made a noise of confusion. I’d _ never _ had a boy compliment me like that before, so I was unsure of how to respond. I smiled and averted my gaze, letting go of his hand. At that moment, I didn’t notice Lloyd frowning nearby, slightly glaring at his old friend.

Brad stepped away, gesturing to the school. “Please, will you not follow me to see the principal?” He turned and began leading us all inside. As we walked, Lloyd stayed very close to me, although I couldn't figure out why. When we ventured inside, we found the hallways to be surprisingly quiet as we walked through them. I couldn’t hear any classes going on, and there was no one in sight.

“Uh, shouldn’t you all be in class?” Cole inquired, also seeing how empty the classrooms were.

Brad explained as we walked. “Actually, today is a new Darkly school tradition: Ninja Day. We stay out of sight to honor the way of the ninja for showing us the light.”

“Huh,” Cole said. “This  _ is _ a good school. I’m impressed!”

Brad led us to a door, which he opened, leading us all inside. It was an office of some sort. “Principal Noble?” he called, speaking toward another closed door. “Lloyd and the ninja are here for the ceremony.”

A man’s silhouette appeared in the door’s window.

“That, and the cake,” Cole added, still very intent on getting his cake. “By the way, do you know what kind it is?”

“I’ll be with you in just a moment,” the principal told us from the door’s other side.

Brad then backtracked to where we’d entered the office. “I should get back to the flowers,” he stated. His smile was gone, and he seemed to be in a hurry. He grabbed the door handle and quickly closed it as he left.

I frowned. Something felt...off about this whole thing. My gut was telling me that we shouldn’t be here, but I didn’t know why. “Uh, does any of this feel wrong to anybody else?” I asked quietly.

“It does to me,” Jay said. “Has anyone seen a teacher yet?”

“Indeed, their absence is most strange,” Zane agreed.

The principal then spoke from behind the door. “I’ll see you now. Come in, come in!”

We all walked toward the door, Cole opening it as we stepped into the principal's office. Everyone looked around for the man we had seen through the door, but instead, a ginger-haired boy with glasses stood on top of the desk. He turned on a lamp, lighting his face dramatically.

“Welcome back, Lloyd,” he greeted, smiling deviously.

Lloyd frowned. “Uh, Gene?”

“And welcome, ninja, to the new Darkly’s Boarding School for Worse Boys!” Gene laughed maniacally as more boys appeared from behind the large desk. All of them smiled at us, but none of them were friendly. I gulped as I realized that we had just walked into a trap.

Gene pulled out a pair of scissors, cutting a rope hanging next to him. Before we could react, six sandbags fell on top of us from the ceiling. Each of them hit one of us, painfully knocking us to the ground. My vision went blurry, and the last thing I heard was Lloyd groaning before I completely blacked out.

“Gene...I’m gonna get you for this…”

. . .

My eyes slowly opened as I awoke, consciousness slowly coming back to me. I tried to move around, but found out that I couldn’t. Looking down, my vision cleared, and I saw that my arms were bound to my side with ropes.  _ Oh, great… _ I sighed in frustration.  _ Poor Cole. He’s not gonna get his cake. _

I looked around. I was in a dark room, but I could still see. I was sitting in a corner. There was nobody else in here with me, except for one brunette boy standing near the closed door. It looked like he was keeping guard. “Hey! Shorty!” I yelled, trying my best to put on an intimidating face. “Where’s Lloyd? Where are my friends?”

The boy humphed. “Your buddy Lloyd’s having an evil intervention at the moment. He’ll soon become one of us again, and neither you nor your friends will be stopping it!”

I gawked at him. “Wait. You mean to tell me that you lured Lloyd here just to convince him to be evil again?”

“Yes,” the boy replied, smirking. “With him as our leader, nothing will stop our evil conquest!”

I kept gawking at him for a moment, not responding. Then, I burst out laughing, leaning against the wall next to me for support.  _ Hah! These guys are nuts! _

The boy seemed surprised. “W-What’s so funny?!” he demanded.

Once I stopped laughing, I replied, “You’re all crazy if you think Lloyd’s gonna turn evil and join you. I mean, come on! He’s the Green Ninja for crying out loud! He’s not gonna give that up to join the boys that were always so mean to him.”

“Quiet!” The boy yelled at me once he’d heard enough. “You don’t know anything. You’re just a stupid girl.”

My smile instantly vanished, and my face went dark. “What did you just say?” I asked in a dark tone.

The boy actually grew a little scared at my sudden change in mood. “Uh… I said y-you’re a stupid girl…”

I growled at him. “Well, why don’t you untie me...and I’ll show you just how much of a ‘stupid girl’ I am!!” My voice had risen in volume the more I spoke, as my rage grew. Who did this guy think he was?

He actually looked a little frightened as I glared at him. Before he could respond, the door opened a crack, and another boy’s head leaned into the room. “Gene says bring the girl,” he told the boy standing guard.

The boy composed himself and nodded. He walked over to me, putting on an intimidating face and grabbing me. As he hauled me to my feet, I growled at him, and his confident mask broke for a second. I smirked, snickering at his apparent fear of me. He responded with a grunt of frustration.

He led me into another room, where it looked like the rest of the boys were gathered. In the center of the room, tied to a chair beneath a blue light, was Lloyd. I breathed a sigh of relief at the sight of him. When he spotted me, he looked relieved, too, for a moment. Then his expression turned to nervousness.

I glared at all the boys around me. “‘Sup, boys?” I asked them in a fake pleasant tone. “I advise you to kindly release me and Lloyd, before I obliterate you all!”

Gene merely laughed at my threat. “I have something better in mind.” He then turned to Lloyd, gesturing to me. “Go on, Lloyd. Tell her what you told me.”

I made a confused face.  _ Uh...what? _

Lloyd frowned, then put on a serious, cold expression. “I can’t believe I was ever friends with you, Aurora. You’re so lame--- _ and _ you’re a girl!”

“W-What?” I said quietly in disbelief. I was horribly confused for a moment---but then I realized what was happening. Lloyd was only acting; he wasn’t truly insulting me, but was trying to convince the Darkly boys that he was evil. I guess I was some sort of test for him. Keeping this in mind, I put my acting skills to the test, feigning hurt and disbelief.

“You heard me,” Lloyd stated coldly. He said it in such a way that I knew he was faking it. I knew him too well to think otherwise. “Why would I, Lloyd Garmadon, ever want a pathetic girl like you for a friend? I’m so much better off without you. I don’t wanna be a good ninja---I wanna be evil, like my father! I’m the son of Lord Garmadon! That’s who I truly am!”

My face contorted in fake shock. I tried my best to force tears to well up in my eyes. “Wow. S-So you’ve been lying to me this whole time. I thought I knew you, Lloyd.” I shook my head, looking down sadly as I tried to make my voice squeak like I was holding back sobs. “I thought you were my friend…” I was able to squeeze a few tears out, and I pretended to be devastated at my best friend “betraying” me. “But I guess that was just another lie.”

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Lloyd’s cold mask fall. He looked at me for a moment, conflicted, then made a noise of defeat. “Argh! I can’t do this anymore!” He dropped the act, unable to keep it up.

Immediately, my fake sobs and tears stopped, and my head whipped up. “Aw, come on, Lloyd,” I admonished. “It was going so well!”

Gene growled. “They’re playing mind games!” he exclaimed, angered by Lloyd’s attempt to deceive him.

Before anyone could do anything else, a loud crash sounded somewhere outside. Everyone looked around in confusion.  _ What’s happening now? _

“Someone’s coming,” Brad announced.

“Let’s check it out,” Gene stated. “Leave the girl here.”

The boy holding me pushed me down on the floor next to Lloyd. “Rude!” I shouted after them as they left. Once the door shut, I struggled to push myself up to a sitting position without the use of my arms. “I swear, those boys are gonna get it…”

Lloyd looked down at me, looking very apologetic. “You...know I didn’t mean any of that...right, Aurora?”

“Of course I knew!” I rushed to assure him, smiling. “We were both faking it the whole time. Lloyd, I know you’d never actually mean to say anything like that. Don’t you dare beat yourself up about it.”

He nodded, smiling at me in relief.

I sighed, looking around and struggling in the ropes. “A lot of good it did us, though…”

Lloyd started struggling, too, desperately trying to escape being tied to the chair. “Why do we always get tied up?” he asked me. “You’d think we’d be pretty good with knots by now.”

I snickered. “I know, right?” Looking around, I tried to spot anything sharp that could help us get out of the ropes. There was nothing around that was sharp enough. Then, I looked up, noticing the blue light bulb above us. “Lloyd, the light bulb,” I pointed out.

Lloyd looked up at it, realizing what I was trying to say. “Okay. You can do this, Lloyd,” he told himself. He stared at it intensely, concentrating. The light bulb flickered, glowing just a tiny bit brighter. Lloyd tried his hardest, but was struggling to give it enough energy to make it shatter.

That was when I remembered what Sensei Wu told me earlier, about my element. I grinned, struggling to stand on my feet. Once I was able to stand, I walked over to stand next to Lloyd. “Keep going,” I told him as I moved my head to face the bulb. Inhaling deeply, I concentrated, trying to connect with the light within me. I’d never summoned it before, so I wasn’t sure if it would work. I dug deep, reaching for my light that rested within me. I felt a surge of something, and I suddenly felt warm and powerful. I directed the wave into the light bulb above us, guiding it to brighten the light that already glowed. I used my light to work together with Lloyd’s surges of energy to overwhelm the glass bulb.

A second later, the light bulb shattered.

Lloyd laughed triumphantly. “Yes!”

“Nice job, Lloyd!” I told him.

He turned to me. “What happened?” he asked, confused. “I couldn’t quite overload the light bulb, but then all of a sudden, I felt this surge of something other than energy. Was that...you?”

I nodded, smiling proudly. “Sensei says that light is my elemental power. I may have helped you out a little, but that energy overload was all you.”

“Wow, that’s cool!” Lloyd exclaimed. “We’re getting pretty amazing, huh?”

I giggled. “Heck yeah, we are.” First Spinjitzu, and now we were both learning how to control our powers. Things were definitely looking up. I started scooting towards the glass. “Now come on, let’s get out of here!”

While I flopped onto my side in an attempt to grab a piece of glass, Lloyd scooched his chair closer to the shattered light bulb remains, then fell on top of them. He shifted himself so that the rope rubbed against the sharp glass, slowly cutting it. Somehow, he got free before I did, his ropes cutting and falling off of him. He laughed in triumph, leaping to his feet. He then quickly helped me undo my ropes, and pulled me to my feet as we both laughed.

“Finally!” Lloyd exclaimed. “We’re free!”

“Woo-hoo!” I cheered, dancing around with him a little.

Our victory was short-lived. The door flew open, revealing Gene and the other boys. Unfortunately, there were too many of them to fight through.

“You’ve gotta be kidding me,” I groaned, throwing my head back in exasperation.

“No way!” Lloyd exclaimed. “We escaped fair and square!”

The boys didn’t seem to care, running inside and shutting the door. They started grabbing desks around the room and piling them in front of the other door, like a barricade. “Your friends are truly evil,” Gene told us.

“What?” Lloyd replied. 

“Our friends aren’t evil,” I stated, just as confused as he was.

Gene just grinned, gesturing outside the door they weren’t blocking. “Come see for yourself.”

Lloyd and I exchanged an uncertain look, but walked to peer out the door. Down in the hallway, the ninja were fighting...themselves? Somehow, there were copies of the original ninjas, and they were all fighting each other.

“See?” Lloyd told Gene. “We told you our friends wouldn’t turn evil. The evil ninja must be my father’s doing.”

I nodded in agreement. “I wouldn’t doubt it. This is weird to watch…”

“Fascinating,” Gene said as he watched the ninja. “It’s like fighting a mirror, where the reflection countermoves in perfect sync. And no one appears to be able to land a blow.”

Lloyd stepped forward. “We have to help them.”

Gene turned to him with a devious grin. “Just to be clear, which ‘them?’”

“My friends, of course,” Lloyd said, backing away from Gene. I nudged him, shaking my head. He realized too late what I was trying to say. “Uh, I mean, the evil ninja! Mwahahaha!”

Wow, I hadn’t heard that evil laugh in a while.

Sadly, it was too late to convince the boys otherwise. They grabbed us, shoving us back into the classroom again. Before I knew it, we were both tied up at the back of the classroom.

Lloyd struggled in his bonds. “I am Lloyd Garmadon, evil son of the super evil Lord Garmadon, and I demand you release me!” He cackled his evil laugh again.

I sighed, shaking my head. “Give it a rest, Lloyd. They aren’t buying it.”

The boys ignored us, turning to face Gene at the chalkboard. “Here’s my theory on how to help the evil ninja destroy the good ninja.” He drew on the board in a flurry of strokes, creating a lot of chalk dust as he frantically drew his theory out, explaining it to the boys. I doubted that they understood what he was saying, but they agreed with him just because he called himself an evil genius.

Ignoring him, I turned to Lloyd and whispered to him. “Remember when I first met you? When you wanted to take over Ninjago?”

Lloyd looked at me in confusion. “Yeah…?”

“You acted like you were super evil, and you wanted to be this villain that everybody was afraid of. But the truth was, you never could be,” I explained to him. “The more time I spent with you, the more good I saw in you. Deep down, you had a light that you tried to keep buried, because you wanted to live up to your father’s name and have the people here like you. Once you realized that you didn’t have to be evil, you started to show your true self.” I smiled, gesturing to the boys nearby. “Do you think these boys feel the same?”

Lloyd was quiet for a moment, thinking, then smiled at me. “You know what? You’re right.” He turned to the Darkly boys. “Alright, you win. I’m good.”

At his shout, they all turned around to face us.

“But guess what? So’s Brad!”

Brad gulped, his eyes widening. “That’s a lie!” he protested.

“Is it?” Lloyd countered. “Then explain why, on the first day we met, you were nice to me.” Everyone looked at Brad accusingly, and I smiled as Lloyd talked. “When I arrived here on my first day, I didn’t know how things worked around here and everyone made fun of me. Brad even put fire ants in my bed.”

Gene laughed. “Yeah, I remember that. That was evil!”

Lloyd went on. “But when everyone was gone, he said he was just trying to teach me how things go. And after that, he took me under his wing, and taught me the art of revenge.”

I held back a snort.  _ Yep. Revenge is definitely an art… _

“Why would you do that?” Gene asked Brad, frowning.

“I wanted to get in good with his father,” Brad replied.

“Nope,” I argued, smiling at Brad. “It’s because deep down, he’s not evil.”

Lloyd stood up with me. “And Brad’s not the only one,” he stated. “Face it: all of you have a secret good side that stays quiet out of fear, because it thinks it’s alone. But it’s not. And I’m living proof! That’s what I learned from my best friend, Aurora.” He smiled over at me.

I blushed a little at the praise. “Oh, it was nothing…”

“So, who’s with us?” Lloyd asked the boys.

Brad finally relented, sighing. “It’s true,” he admitted. “And I love planting flowers.”

“You  _ what _ ?!” Gene exclaimed.

Brad walked over to me and Lloyd. “Also, the ninja saved my life. A kindness I plan to return.” He untied us both, smiling with us.

He seemed to inspire the other boys. They all smiled, too, walking over to stand with me and Lloyd. Soon, only Gene stood on the other side. He groaned, frowning. “Aw, my dad is gonna be so mad…”

“Yeah, join the club,” Lloyd told him as I chuckled.

Gene smiled, walking over to stand with us. Just like that, Lloyd had convinced the Darkly boys to be good for a change. I was so proud of him.

“Now then, I have a plan,” Lloyd told everyone, pulling out a needle. “Who here can sew?”

My hand shot up. Sewing had been one of the many skills I’d learned at the orphanage.

The boys all gasped. “Sew?!” Brad exclaimed.

I laughed, grabbing the needle from Lloyd’s hand. “Come on, boys,” I stated. “Follow my lead.”

We got to work on Lloyd’s plan. Somehow, we found red, blue, white, and black fabric around the school and gathered it in the classroom. Using scissors and a lot of sewing needles, we started to create mini ninja gis for all the Darkly boys. I had to instruct the boys multiple times on how to properly sew, but the end result was better than I thought it would be. Soon, the boys all had their very own ninja gi. They all pulled their masks on excitedly.

Lloyd and I stood at the front of them. We nodded at each other, then pulled on our own masks. Together, we shouted, “Ninja, go!”

We all charged into the hallway, Lloyd and I leading the charge. Everyone ran for the ninja, trying to confuse and distract the evil ninja. We all piled on top of them, trying to beat them up, only to get thrown off. However, the boys managed to distract the evil ninja long enough for the real ninja to take them down. Zane destroyed his clone using Spinjitzu.

“It works just as Gene says,” Lloyd pointed out to the ninja. “If you can land a punch, they’ll be defeated!”

Cole uppercutted his clone, and it disappeared. Jay kicked his clone, and Kai punched his in the face. When the evil ninja clones were gone, we all cheered, happy that we’d won the day.

I hugged Lloyd in excitement. “It worked, Lloyd! You did it!”

Lloyd shook his head. “No, we did it.” He looked around at his former classmates. “We all did it!”

The Darkly boys all cheered excitedly. It seemed that they had truly found their calling, and were going to be good from now on.

The teachers all came out of their hiding spot and approached us. “Normally, we’d punish you for holding us captive,” a man told the boys, “but I guess now that we’ve all learned a valuable lesson, I suppose it’s cause for a celebration.”

Cole walked forward. “Uh, that wouldn’t mean cake, now, would it?”

Everyone laughed at his words. We spent the rest of the day fully enjoying the celebration---and yes, Cole did get his cake. That boy from earlier even apologized to me for calling me a stupid girl.

As the sun set, we all headed back home. Cole flew the dragon, just as he said he would, and the rest of us rode in the Ninja Tank. The clones had managed to steal it and use it to get to the school.

“Oh, man!” Jay exclaimed. “So great to have the tank back.”

“You said it!” Cole said from atop the dragon, still eating some cake. He was hauling the entire thing back with him.

“Can’t wait to hear what Sensei says when he hears about this,” Kai stated.

Just then, the screen in the driver’s seat buzzed. To my surprise, the image of Lord Garmadon appeared on it. “ _So, it is true_ ,” he growled. “ _You have destroyed my evil ninja._ ”

Lloyd and I exchanged a look.

Kai leaned over Jay’s seat. “Keep it coming, Garmadon,” he challenged. “Your attempts to stop us are only making us stronger.”

Garmadon growled. “ _ But tomorrow is a new day, ninja. Mark my words, I will find new ways to finish you, once and for--- _ ” His image on screen then fizzled out, and the audio crackled.

“What?” Kai asked mockingly. “I can’t hear you.”

“Nya will be displeased,” Zane pointed out. “She just repaired it, and it appears it already has to go back to the shop.”

Lloyd smirked. “Nah, it’s not broken.” I saw him grip the handles at his sides. A wave of energy flowed through them and into the tank. The screen in the front went from fizzling to a perfectly working video game, fun music and all.

“Whoa!” I gasped, very impressed.

“ _ You _ did that?” Jay asked him in disbelief. “But it didn’t blow up.”

Lloyd pulled out a controller. “Hey, you go to school, and sometimes you might pick up a thing or two.”

Everyone laughed at that. Lloyd and I smiled at each other, taking turns playing the game as we travelled home with our family. I was happy to see that, for once, he didn’t seem bothered by his father’s threats.


	4. Episode 16: Ninjaball Run

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A perilous race with no rules where anybody can compete? No wonder the prize is $100,000...
> 
> Also, why is is called the "Ninjaball Run" if it's a road race?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woot woot! Time for chapter 4! It's a little shorter than the others, but that's just because it's the last filler episode before all the serious stuff starts happening. Child's Play, the Stone Army, the whole Dark Island arc... Oh boy, you guys are in for a real ride!
> 
> I know you're all eagerly awaiting the next episode: Child's Play. I am, too! Perhaps, if I get enough comments asking me to do it, I may post the next chapter earlier than scheduled... :)
> 
> Anyway, enjoy!  
> \----------------

This was one interesting way to start the day. After breakfast, Sensei Wu decided that training would begin with a test of focus. Apparently, that meant that I had to hold up Kai, Jay, Zane, Cole, and Sensei himself with my feet, while Lloyd balanced all of us on top of his feet, all while making a one-handed handstand on the ground.

“Focus,” Sensei instructed. He was perched on top of us all, drinking his tea, as always. “In order to bear the fate of Ninjago on your shoulders, you must first learn to bear the weight of all of us.”

We all wobbled unsteadily, making uncertain noises. I focused as much as I could, trying my hardest to keep Zane’s feet balanced on top of my own while I grabbed on tightly to Lloyd’s feet. I could only barely keep everyone’s weight above me; I couldn’t imagine how hard it must be for Lloyd, who only had one hand to support all of us.

“Focus,” Sensei urged again.

“Uh, Sensei,” Jay said, “I’m starting to think this was a bad idea.”

“Yeah, Sensei,” Cole agreed. “They’re just kids.”

Sensei calmly sipped his tea. “In order for them both to succeed, we must all trust one another.”

I grunted, trying my best not to move. _We can do this,_ I told myself. _You hold great strength within you. Just be calm and focus…_ My arms were growing weary, but I tried my hardest to ignore it. I was determined to hold this as long as I could.

My plans changed when the wall exploded behind us.

The sudden burst made everyone go flying, toppling over and landing hard on the ground. I fell down on top of Lloyd, who face-planted into the floor. Dust clouded the room for a moment, and I saw debris everywhere as I wearily lifted my head.

“What was that?” Cole groaned.

Lloyd tried to get up, and I quickly rolled off of him. We both stood up and walked with the ninja over to the gaping hole in the wall, where the large window once was. I saw a giant wrecking ball hanging outside in the street, and a couple of confused contractors peering inside the dojo. It seemed as if they were confused as to why we were here.

That was when Dareth sprinted into the room. “Whoa, whoa, whoa!” he frantically shouted at them. “This wasn’t supposed to happen until tomorrow!”

“Tomorrow?” the man in charge echoed. “Let me see that order.” Another man handed him a note, and he read it over. He then chuckled in embarrassment. “Oh, yeah, my bad. Sorry ‘bout that. We’ll be back in the morning.”

Dareth groaned sadly, frowning as he watched them leave. He picked up one of his fake trophies, which had been damaged by the wrecking ball.

Cole walked up to him. “Uh, Dareth, what is this all about?”

Dareth sighed. “Well, I fell behind on some of my payments, and some developer named Darnagom Enterprises is buying the entire block to put in some stupid frisbee golf course. They say if I don’t come up with fifty-thousand by tomorrow, the dojo is gone.”

“Oh no,” I gasped. The dojo was being taken away? _But I like it here!_

“But we already lost the Bounty!” Jay pointed out. “We can’t lose the dojo now!”

Dareth caressed his fake, broken trophy. “My trophies,” he whined, tearing up. “All my fake trophies…”

“Wait a minute,” Zane interjected. “Darnagom? When you rearrange the letters, it spells---”

“O grandma?” Jay guessed.

“No!” Kai exclaimed. “Garmadon!”

Lloyd immediately deflated, looking guilty.

Jay laughed sheepishly. “Right, that would make more sense.”

“My dad is behind this?” Lloyd asked. 

I put a comforting hand on his back. “I think he’s trying to stop our training…”

“She’s right,” Cole agreed, turning to Sensei Wu. “If he destroys the dojo, where will we train Lloyd and Aurora?”

Dareth looked at Sensei. “Any chance you got fifty-thousand in that teapot of yours?”

“Worry not, Dareth,” Sensei replied. “You are not in this alone. We’re all with you.”

“Did someone say fifty-thousand?” a familiar voice asked from the entrance. We all turned to see Nya walking into the dojo.

Jay gasped. “You didn’t happen to win the lottery?”

“No, but I heard about Ninjaball Run,” Nya told us.

“Ninjaball Run?”

“It’s the biggest road race in Ninjago,” she explained, “with a prize of one hundred-thousand big ones. And it’s tomorrow!”

Dareth sighed again. “Thank you, little lady fighter, but you’re talking about the most dangerous race known to man. Only the most serious of racers even stand a chance…”

“But didn’t you just do a few upgrades on our Ultra Sonic Radar?” Kai asked his sister, who nodded. “Maybe we might stand a chance.”

Lloyd grinned. “And Aurora and I can enter with our dragon!” He nudged me. “You did say I needed the practice.”

I laughed enthusiastically. “Great idea! I’m in!”

“So it is agreed,” Sensei proclaimed. “You will all enter this Ninjaball Run to save the dojo.”

Dareth was still sobbing as he held his trophy. Nya walked over to him and put a hand on his shoulder. “Are you still crying?” she asked.

“Yes,” Dareth replied, “but these are happy tears…”

. . .

The next day, we were all ready to go for the Ninjaball Run. Lloyd and I could barely sleep the night before; we were both too excited to take part in a real, dangerous race. Although, the fact that the two of us were allowed to compete--with a dragon, which was definitely _not_ a road vehicle--made me wonder about the apparent lack of rules that this race had.

Lloyd piloted the dragon, landing him in the open space at the starting line. The road was surrounded by the loud cheers of fans lining the bleachers that had been set up around the announcers’ box. Since Lloyd had landed so hard, he knocked the poor mailman off of his bike.

“Sorry!” I shouted down at him. I then turned to my best friend. “That was good, Lloyd, but perhaps a little easier on the landing next time?”

He quickly nodded. “Got it.” By his tone, I could tell that he was a little anxious. I was gonna try and give him full control over the reins this time, since he needed the practice, and that was probably getting to him.

Cole turned to us from where he and the ninja were checking the tank. “You look nervous, Lloyd,” he told him. “You okay?”

“Nervous?” Lloyd echoed, chasing the slight fear from his voice. “Ha, ha, ha. Maybe for you guys.”

I snickered. “We’ll be fine, Cole!” I assured him, pulling my gi mask over my head.

While I petted the dragon, giving him words of encouragement, Lloyd checked that everything was in order. An engine loudly roared from the other end of the line, and I turned to see an old bus with a bunch of boys at the helm. _Wait a sec, are those the Darkly boys?_ Who wasn’t competing in this race?

“ _Alright, the race is about to start,_ ” the announcers stated over the PA system, “ _and officials are saying that the racers should take their places. We’re about to begin!_ ”

I made a noise of excitement. “It’s almost time!” I squealed.

Lloyd chuckled. “Yeah. Time to show everyone how it’s done.”

“ _Wait a minute. It appears some skeletons have crashed the party! Is this against the rules?”_

I looked over to see that, indeed, a couple of skeletons had come from nowhere with a giant monster truck. “Uh, what?” I exchanged a look with Lloyd, who shrugged.

“ _Rules? Ha!_ ” The other announcer didn’t seem bothered by it. “ _There’s only one rule in Ninjaball Run, and that’s cross the finish line first!_ ”

I frowned. _So...cheating is allowed?_ Maybe this race wouldn’t be as easy as I thought it would.

The announcer then went on to explain the different parts of the course, which I paid close attention to. The first leg was in the streets of the city. The second was in the Sea of Sand, including a huge, dangerous canyon. The next two legs were in the snowy Birchwood Forest and Glacier Barrens, making me once again question Ninjago’s geography. The last leg was in the badlands, eventually circling back to this finish line.

_“One final word: let’s have a good, clean race!_ ”

I snorted. “With no rules? Yeah, right,” I mumbled.

Lloyd nudged me. “We’ll be fine, Rose.”

“I know that,” I informed him, glancing at the Ninja Tank briefly. “It’s the ninja I’m worried about…” After all, Lloyd and I would be safe in the sky. The ninja had to deal with all the competitors on the ground.

“ _So good luck to everyone!_ ”

The countdown began. A red light appeared on the screen. Lloyd and I readied ourselves, ready to take off in an instant. Everyone else started their engines, and soon the air was filled with their loud roaring.

A yellow light joined the red one on the screen. “ _On your mark… Get set..._ ”

I waited in anticipation, staring down the screen. Finally, the green light appeared.

“ _Ninjaball go!_ ”

Immediately, everyone’s vehicles whirred to life, taking off down the street at rapid speeds as the onlookers loudly cheered.

“Come on, boy!” Lloyd told the dragon, pulling on the reins. The Ultra-Dragon immediately took off into the air, soaring into the sky at top speed. I cheered in excitement---the race had begun.

The dragon soared around a corner, easily keeping up with all the racers below us. Lloyd and I were very near the lead, but at this point, it was still anybody’s race. On a high note, Lloyd was doing pretty well so far flying the dragon, and I remained a helpful aid for him, as well as a cheerleader for the dragon. At one point, I noticed that I didn’t see the Ninja Tank anywhere, in front of us or behind us. I didn’t worry about it too much, though; they knew what they were doing, right?

After a few minutes, Lloyd and I fell behind. Lloyd’s steering faltered, and the dragon swerved from side to side. Eventually, it turned in the complete wrong direction.

“Wrong way!” Lloyd shouted. “Oh, we’re going the wrong way!”

“Stop stating the obvious and do something!” I urged him. A part of me wanted to reach over and take control, but Lloyd needed to learn how to do this, so I restrained myself.

Lloyd frantically tried to regain control. After a bit of struggling, he eventually steered the dragon back onto the track. However, we were now way behind. We had only just made it to the desert, and the other racers were far ahead of us.

I leaned down the dragon’s heads, patting his side. “Come on, bud! You can do this! We’ve gotta catch up!”

He roared in agreement, flapping his wings harder and trying his best to fly faster.

Lloyd groaned in frustration. “Why can’t I do this?” He turned to me. “Maybe you should drive. We need to win this race, and you’re a lot better at this than I am…”

“Lloyd, stop doubting yourself!” I told him, smiling in encouragement. “You’re only struggling because you’re still learning. If I can somewhat steer this dragon without reins, then you can definitely steer him with them. You’re the Green Ninja! You’ve got this!”

My friend was silent for a moment, then nodded, his eyes full of determination. “You’re right. I can do this.” He turned to the four dragon heads. “Come on, boy! Let’s go!”

The Ultra-Dragon zoomed ahead, flying down the track at rapid speeds. While we caught up with everyone else, I gave Lloyd a few pieces of advice, mainly telling him to be gentle with his steering and work with the dragon instead of trying to fully control it.

Working together, the two of us soon reached the canyon. Lloyd had been driving just fine, but when we arrived at the many narrow twists and turns of the canyon, he started to have a little trouble again. I helped him the best I could, fully confident in him.

The roar of engines grew closer and closer, and I knew that we were catching up. The dragon made a sharp right around a corner, and suddenly we were face-to-face with the back of a familiar flying ship.

“Aah!” I yelled in alarm, grabbing onto Lloyd’s arm.

He screamed in surprise, too. “Out of the way!” He tried tugging on the reins to stop the dragon, but it was too late, and its heads crashed into the back of the ship. It was thrown off balance, almost crashing into the side of the canyon as we flew around it. The impact had made Lloyd let go of the reins.

My eyes widened when I saw a familiar figure standing on the deck, surrounded by the Serpentine. “Lloyd, it’s your dad!” I informed him, pointing at the Destiny’s Bounty.

Lloyd made a face as we tried to retrieve the reins. “What’s he doing here?”

The two of us caught up with the ninja, who were driving their tank through the canyon. “Nice going, guys!” Kai shouted up at us.

Before I could ask what it was we did, the dragon jolted as his wing grazed the side of the cliff. Since Lloyd and I had been reaching for the reins, we had nothing to hold onto, and we both went flying over the dragon’s heads with said reins. We fell down, but luckily Lloyd was able to grab onto the reins as they fell. He grabbed onto my hand, also stopping me from becoming a ninja pancake in the sand. We just so happened to stop in front of the Ninja Tank, and were now staring the ninja in the face as we dangled down.

“You saved us!” Cole exclaimed.

“We did?” Lloyd asked in confusion. “I mean, yeah we did!”

I laughed at his words. “Hey, guys, what do you say we win this race together?” Really, we should’ve been doing that in the first place.

“Yeah!” Jay agreed. “I say let’s show them what we ninja are all about!”

We all cheered together. “Ninja, go!” 

The Ninja Tank zoomed onward. After the dragon swung the reins upward, allowing me and Lloyd to hop back up onto his back, we followed close behind. We gradually started catching up with the other racers, making it to the second leg of the race, where the snowy birch forest was. Eventually, we passed Cole’s dad’s quartet, their vehicle having crashed into a snow pile.

“Aw, man…” Cole groaned, facepalming.

“We’ll never make it through these trees to catch up,” Kai stated.

Lloyd shouted down at him. “We’ll find a shortcut! Up, boy!” The dragon immediately rose higher into the air, soaring above the treetops now. “Whoa! Ha ha, you actually went up!”

I giggled. “He is _your_ dragon, Lloyd.”

“Yours, too,” he pointed out, chuckling. We both looked around, and only after a few seconds, we had spotted a shortcut through the woods. Piloting the dragon, Lloyd swooped back down to the ninja, leading them onward. “Follow us!”

We flew close to the ground, making a hard right into the shortcut. The Ninja Tank followed closely behind us. Lloyd led the ninja down the many twists and turns of the side path. His nervousness seemed to be all but gone now, and it was allowing him to pilot the Ultra-Dragon better than he ever had before.

“Woo-hoo!” he loudly cheered, filled with excitement and joy.

His enthusiasm made me laugh in delight. “Look at you!” I exclaimed. “I told you that you would get the hang of it, Lloyd!”

Lloyd chuckled. “This is the most fun I’ve ever had!”

Thanks to the shortcut, we all managed to make up for our lost time. The other racers soon came into view, and our side path came up alongside the main road. We spotted our opponents through the trees, rapidly catching up with them.

Lloyd flew the dragon steady, and I was having a lot of fun riding alongside him. Then, the dragon jolted slightly. It was as if something had grabbed onto him.

“What was that?” I wondered.

Before Lloyd could reply, the dragon was jolted again, harder this time. I spotted a cable down below that had latched onto one of the dragon’s legs, belonging to the skeleton monster truck I’d seen earlier. They drove sideways, yanking the dragon out of the sky. Lloyd and I screamed as the dragon plummeted, unable to fight the pull of the cable attached to it. We spiraled downward, crash-landing into the snow. The impact sent me and Lloyd flying off of the saddle, falling down onto the snow below us. Thankfully, we hadn’t been too high up when we crashed, so none of us were too hurt, just dazed. The snow was really cold, though---but my ninja gi was surprisingly insulated. Light and breathable material, but still kept you warm; whoever made these gis was a genius.

I groaned as I sat up, slowly making my head stop spinning. _Not again,_ I inwardly whined. This really happened too often to me.

Lloyd sat up, too, groaning as he heaved himself to his feet. He spotted me close by, and walked over, frowning. “Hey, are you okay?”

I nodded, gratefully accepting his hand to help me stand. “Yep,” I informed him, smirking. “Not my first crash-landing. What about you?”

“I’m fine,” Lloyd assured me. We then both turned to the poor Ultra-Dragon, walking over to his heads as they laid in the snow. “You okay there, fella?”

The dragon softly roared an affirmative, nodding one of his heads. Lloyd and I both petted him in a comforting way.

“You get knocked out of the sky way too much, don’t you, bud?” I asked him in a babying tone, hugging his head fondly.

Lloyd turned to the snowy road. “We got them back in the race,” he pointed out, smiling.

I nodded. “Yeah. It’s up to the ninja now.” Smiling confidently, I added, “And I know they can do it!”

My best friend pouted. “I wanted us to win, though…”

“That would’ve been pretty amazing, huh?” I agreed, walking over to stand next to him. “Two kids and a dragon winning the biggest race ever.”

We both laughed together at the thought.

“So...what now?” Lloyd wondered.

I shrugged. “Fly back to the finish line, I guess? Maybe we can make it there in time to watch the ninja win the race.”

“Yeah!” Lloyd agreed, nodding. He flexed one of his arms, wincing a little. “But, uh… Can you drive this time? My arm’s a little sore from that crash…”

I nodded, hopping up onto the Ultra-Dragon. I leaned down and patted him. “Are you up for flying more, bud?” I asked him.

The dragon stood up in response, roaring enthusiastically. He’d recovered from his crash-landing, it seemed.

“Yay!” I cheered, happy that he was alright. I then smiled down at Lloyd. “Climb aboard, Green Ninja!”

Lloyd giggled, hopping onto the dragon’s back next to me. “Onward, Yellow Ninja!”

I laughed, grabbing hold of the reins as the Ultra-Dragon flapped its wings, lifting itself up into the air. Both Lloyd and I cheered in delight as it flew once more, soaring back to the city. I steered him back the way we came, since that way would be quicker than continuing down the race course. Since we were out of the race, I flew as fast as we wanted to, just enjoying flying on the back of a dragon. Lloyd and I had a lot of fun and enjoyed ourselves; I even made the dragon do a loop-de-loop or two just for fun.

_If the others at the orphanage could see me now!_

Soon, we arrived back in Ninjago City. As we approached the finish line, we saw the ninja and the Destiny’s Bounty cross the finish line at the same time. By all the cheering going on, we deduced that the ninja had won the race.

“They did it!” Lloyd exclaimed.

The two of us embraced in excitement and celebration. “I knew they could do it!” I cheered. That was when I caught sight of the Bounty, stationary on the ground near the finish line. As we flew closer, I saw that there was nobody on it, not even Lord Garmadon. The dark lord was on the street, shouting something as the audience celebrated the ninjas’ victory. I pointed it out. “Hey, Lloyd, do you see what I see?”

Lloyd followed my finger, his eyes widening when he realized what I had. “The Bounty---it’s defenseless!”

I smirked. “You thinking what I’m thinking?”

“Oh yeah!”

It was time we took back our ship.

While Lord Garmadon was shouting about unfair rules, Lloyd and I crept up to the Bounty on the dragon, landing on the deck. Lloyd and I hopped off the dragon’s back, pulling our masks off. We stood next to the railing, looking down at Lloyd’s father as he ranted, the four heads of our dragon friend looming over us.

“No! That’s not fair!” Garmadon protested. “That wasn’t even part of the vehicle in the first place! It’s not even street legal! My ship was---”

“ _Your_ ship?” Lloyd stated loudly.

Lord Garmadon turned around, his eyes widening in shock when he saw Lloyd, me, and the Ultra-Dragon on the Destiny’s Bounty. Even he couldn’t stand up against a four-headed dragon that was bigger than the ship itself.

“I believe this belongs to us!” Lloyd told his father, putting his hands on his hips.

I crossed my arms, smirking down at him as I used his own words against him. “Sorry! You snooze, you lose!”

“No! No! No!” Lord Garmadon shouted in anger and frustration.

The police approached him, trying to apprehend him, but a snake bus driven by Serpentine got to him before they did. He hopped in the bus, and they drove away, making their escape. I sighed, knowing that we would see him again soon.

Instead of dwelling on that, I turned to Lloyd. “We got the Bounty back!” I squealed happily as we both jumped down onto the street. We both cheered, high-fiving one another before joining the ninja in the winner’s circle. All of us surrounded a giant trophy representing our win, and the mountain of cash piled in it now belonged to us.

“We did it! We did it!” Dareth cheered wildly. “Woo-hoo! We saved the dojo! Look what I can do!” He jumped into the pile of money in the trophy, making it fly everywhere. “Cannonball!”

All of us laughed hard at his shenanigans, caught up in the joy of our victory. Honestly, I would’ve done the same thing. We’d accomplished so much today: we won the race, saved Dareth’s dojo, and reclaimed the Destiny’s Bounty. We wouldn’t have to live in that cramped apartment anymore! Lloyd and I would have our own room again! If I wasn’t so worn out, I would’ve been jumping for joy. Today, once again, we had come out on top in daunting circumstances.

The future looked bright for us. This family could accomplish anything we put our minds to. That’s how I knew for sure that, someday, Lloyd and I would defeat the dark lord, just as the prophecy said.


	5. Episode 17: Child's Play

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Growing up is hard to do.
> 
> Every kid longs to grow up one day.
> 
> But once they do, all they long for is to be a kid again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> At last, the episode you all have been so patiently waiting for: Child's Play! Your pleas have convinced me, and so here it is, two days early! I hope that it lives up to your high expectations! Please leave a comment if you want; I always enjoy hearing from you guys!
> 
> You all know what's about to happen, so I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it!  
> \-----------------

An intense game of soccer raged down in the village beneath us. A group of boys were playing the game with each other, laughing joyfully and cheering, having the time of their lives. I didn’t get jealous often, but...now was one of those times.

Lloyd and I were watching the boys play from up on the Destiny’s Bounty as we flew by. We both stood the same: leaning against the railing, gazing longingly at the boys down below having fun when we weren’t, both wishing that we could be playing too. All we seemed to do nowadays was train; we were the two ninja of the prophecy, after all, and there was a huge burden on our shoulders. It seemed like my best friend and I almost never got the chance to play or read comics anymore. 

Don’t get me wrong: I love training to be a ninja! It was a dream-come-true for me. But...when exactly would Lloyd and I get to be kids again? The two of us were only ten years old, after all. We still had our whole lives ahead of us.

“Lloyd? Aurora?” We were so lost in our thoughts that we didn’t hear Kai speaking to us until he shouted our names. “Lloyd! Aurora!”

Lloyd and I turned around, facing the four ninja behind us, still busy with our training session.

  
  
“Concentrate,” Kai told us.

When Lloyd and I showed our reluctance, Zane stepped forward. “Now that the Bounty is in our possession again, we can train you both more effectively, but you’ll have to focus.” He smiled, pointing at us in encouragement. “One more time.”

Lloyd immediately groaned. “Ah, but we’ve been training all day!”

“Can’t we have a break?” I asked politely, trying to remain calm, even though a part of me wanted to whine like Lloyd. We really had been going at this all day, and Lloyd and I were getting fed up with it.

“It’s all to get you both ready to face Lloyd’s father,” Cole said, also smiling in encouragement. “Now, in position!”

Lloyd and I exchanged tired looks, then sighed, walking over to stand in front of the four ninja. Said ninja all readied themselves, pulling their gi masks over their faces. Even though I was tired and annoyed, I still resolved to try and do my best, knowing I’d feel better for it later. As Lloyd halfheartedly got into a ready stance next to me, he yawned dramatically, clearly stating his fatigue. The gesture made me snort in amusement as I readied myself for a fight.

The four ninja all got into position, ready to take us on.

“Yeah, whatever,” Lloyd grumbled, gesturing them forward.

Kai leapt at us, trying to attack us both at once. Together, Lloyd and I uppercutted our fists into his stomach, hard enough to knock him back the way he’d come, falling on his rear. Lloyd made a show of yawning again. After that, Zane and Jay leapt for each of us, swooping down from above. With a cry of “Ninja, go!” Lloyd and I both spun around rapidly, doing Spinjitzu. We both leapt up into the air as we did, and I used my yellow tornado to knock Zane away while Lloyd used his green one to knock Jay to the ground. I had to smile as I used Spinjitzu; I was still so happy with my newly-acquired ability, especially with how cool I felt each time I used it.

Lloyd and I landed next to each other, smirking at the fallen ninja in triumph. That’s when I heard a battle cry behind us, and I turned around to see Cole charging at us from behind. Just in time, I managed to sidestep him, but Lloyd hadn’t been as attentive. Cole plowed right into him, gracefully sliding beneath the poor boy as he went spinning into the air, eventually landing on his face. I winced, almost feeling his pain. I walked over to help him up as the ninja all gathered with us.

“Nice dodge, Aurora,” Cole complimented, smiling at me in approval.

I beamed at him in thanks as I helped Lloyd to his feet. “Just doing what you taught me!”

Lloyd smiled hopefully as I helped him stand up. “That was fun! Are we done?”

“Oh, come on,” Jay said, pulling off his mask. “You’re better than this. What’s on your mind?”

“Well, ah…” Lloyd hesitated before explaining. “The latest issue of Starfarer just came in at Doomsday Comix, and it’s a limited run, so if I don’t go out and get it, it’s gonna sell out! Last they left off, intergalactic rogue Fritz Donnegan was surrounded by the Imperial Sludge, and if we don’t find out if he gets out all right---”

“I think we might have our own doomsday!” I finished for him, clutching his arm as I cried out dramatically. I gave the four confused ninja a pleading look. “It’s a matter of life and death, guys.” Lloyd had gotten me absolutely hooked on the Fritz Donnegan series, so thanks to him, I was just as crazy about it as he was.

Lloyd nodded. “Yeah, what she said.”

“The fate of Ninjago rests on your shoulders,” Kai told us in a serious tone. “As the Green and Yellow Ninjas, you both have a giant responsibility to hold. I’m sorry, but you don’t have time for such childish things.”

My heart sank at his words. I crossed my arms at the ninja while Lloyd hung his head, walking over to look over the ship’s edge again. “But we’re still kids!” I pointed out to Kai, growing frustrated. “Don’t we still get to _be_ kids?”

“Other kids get to play and have fun,” Lloyd added. “All we ever do is train.”

I walked over to him, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder. I followed his gaze, looking at the boys playing again far below, sighing longingly. I had been over the moon when we finally started training, but now that we were in the thick of it, I finally realized all that we had given up in return. I never knew we’d have to basically give up our childhood for this. _Can’t we worry about saving Ninjago tomorrow? Can’t we just be kids for one more day?_

Suddenly, Nya burst out from below the ship’s deck, sprinting over toward us. “Guys! There’s been a break-in at the Ninjago City Museum of History, and the security camera picked up you-know-who!”

“Garmadon,” Cole stated.

Jay clenched his fist. “We have to stop him before he uses the Mega-Weapon to start another one of his diabolical plots!”

Lloyd turned to the ninja, and I saw him smile hopefully. “Um…” Then, he quickly changed his demeanor as the ninja faced him. “Yeah, yeah, yeah. Aurora and I can’t go, and it’s safer if we stay here and train.”

The four ninja all hummed and nodded their agreement. It wasn’t long before the Bounty landed, the four ninja all hopped in their vehicles, and zoomed off towards the city, promising to return once they were done.

Lloyd sighed as they zoomed off. “Too old for comic books and too young to fight,” he grumbled. “When are they gonna make up their minds?”

I shook my head. “I’m not sure they ever will…”

Nya smiled at us. “Aw, come on, you two pint-sizes. Show me what you got!”

Lloyd made sure to dramatically yawn again, evoking another snort from me. The two of us walked off with Nya, ready for another bout of sparring and training before night fell.

. . .

Nighttime came and went, and the ninja didn’t return before bedtime. We all weren’t that worried at first, as it was normal for the ninja to be gone for many hours when it came to fighting Lord Garmadon. Nya was sure that they would return during the night sometime, so I wasn’t too worried about it when Lloyd and I decided to hit the hay, after staying up late playing video games again. Sharing a room with him again was fun; it was like we were having a sleepover every night!

However, when the four ninja were still nowhere to be found the next morning, the worrying began.

Lloyd and I were happily re-reading the previous issue of Starfarer out on the deck. We both stood next to each other, crowded so close that our arms were touching, gazing down at the comic on the table together. It was our third time reading the same issue, but what else were we supposed to do to curb our desire to read the newest one?

We, uh… We were _supposed_ to be reading the book of Spinjitzu techniques that lay closed nearby, but honestly, Lloyd and I could only take so much of that book before we had to do something else. Besides, Sensei was preoccupied at the moment, and hadn’t noticed us not reading the assigned book yet.

Nya was pacing around worriedly. “They should be back by now,” she stated.

Sensei Wu stood next to her. “I fear something horrible has happened to them...” He then paused, and seemed to come to a decision. He turned around to address us two kids. “Lloyd. Aurora.”

Lloyd frantically pushed the comic book aside, and I grabbed the Spinjitzu book, opening it and holding it where the comic had been a second earlier. Lloyd and I smiled innocently as Sensei Wu looked at us.

“You’re both in charge of the Bounty while Nya and I have a look around town,” he announced.

I nodded at him, grinning. “Okay!”

Lloyd pretended to be immersed in the book. “Uh, yeah, sure thing.”

As soon as Nya and Sensei Wu had left, the two of us put the Spinjitzu book aside again and grabbed the Starfarer comic, grinning in excitement.

“Okay, Fritz Donnegan,” Lloyd said, smirking as he opened the comic to where we’d left off. “Looks like it’s just gonna be you, us, and the Imperial Sludge.”

I giggled, resting my head on my hands next to him. “Can you imagine if the Imperial Sludge was real?”

“That would be terrifying!” Lloyd replied, laughing. “But I bet we could still kick its butt.”

“Definitely!” I agreed.

Later on, Lloyd and I grew bored again after we’d finished reading the comic book. We decided to go and play video games on the bridge; that way, we could be entertained, and we would be at the ready in case Nya, Sensei, or the ninja called us. Lloyd and I were thoroughly enjoying the break from training while it lasted. Nowadays, we were sure to take every free moment we could get.

“Face my wrath!” Lloyd yelled playfully, relentlessly attacking my digital dragon with his own. We’d been playing one-on-one for a while now, and we were really starting to get competitive. I was having a lot of fun.

I snorted. “Hah! What makes you think you can defeat me?” I asked him, skillfully maneuvering my dragon.

“I’ve won the most so far!” he bragged.

“That’s only because you’ve played this game more than I have,” I pointed out.

The two of us were locked in an intense battle for several more minutes. Finally, I gained the upper hand, feigning attacks and being super strategic. I soon defeated Lloyd’s dragon.

“Yes!” I exclaimed joyfully, throwing my hands up in excitement. 

“No!” Lloyd shouted, right after I had screamed ‘yes.’

“In your face, Garmadon!”

He pouted. “How’d you even do that?”

I smirked at him, smugly. “I’m just that good.”

He soon got over it, and we started another round. The two of us were locked in battle once again, but after only a few short minutes, the phone started ringing nearby. It was closest to Lloyd, and he tried to reach for it while still playing the game. I snickered at his attempts, and eventually, he knocked it off its pedestal, nearly falling out of his chair. He let it hang off the table by its cord as we turned our attention back to the game.

“Destiny’s Bounty,” Lloyd answered in a monotonous voice.

“ _Lloyd! It’s Jay!_ ” the voice of Jay said from the phone. I had to stop for a second in surprise. “ _Let me talk to Sensei!_ ”

I breathed out a sigh of relief that he was alright. “Jay? Where are you guys?” I asked. “Why haven’t you returned?”

“Yeah,” Lloyd added. “Sensei is out looking for you.”

“ _Ah…_ ” Jay drawled, sounding almost embarrassed. “ _Apparently you need parental permission to take the bus, and we can’t seem to get out of the city._ ”

That was when I paused the game, turning my full attention to the phone. “Say what?” I replied to Jay, puzzled by his words. _And is it just me, or does his voice sound squeakier than usual?_

“Aw, Aurora!” Lloyd protested at me pausing the game.

I gave him a look. “They could need our help, Lloyd.”

“ _Ah! Nevermind, it’s a bit complicated_ ,” Jay exclaimed. “ _Just meet us at Buddy’s Pizza in ten minutes. And bring our weapons!_ ”

Lloyd frowned in confusion. “Weapons…?” He leaned towards the phone, only to lean too far and fall out of his chair.

I laughed at his expense, hopping out of my own chair. I walked over and offered my hand to him. He grumbled, but accepted my outstretched hand and stood back up on his feet. “Looks like the ninja need our help after all,” I stated.

“Yeah,” Lloyd said, still sounding a little confused. I would be lying if I said I wasn’t confused, too. “Okay, let’s go. You drive the ship, and I’ll go grab their weapons.”

I nodded. “Aye aye.”

Lloyd left the bridge as I scurried to the ship’s steering wheel. I realized that the Bounty’s whole design made sense now, since it had been a pirate ship in the past. I still had trouble completely seeing over the tall wheel, but that didn’t stop me. I had grown a lot better at flying the ship, and so I was able to smoothly pilot the Bounty into the city and descend out of the sky. Lloyd had to make two trips as I flew, as the weapons were really heavy and he could only carry two at a time. I briefly wondered why the ninja needed them anyway; hadn’t they left with weapons yesterday?

I decided to bring the ship down above our old apartment building. We could climb down the anchor like we always did, and then walk down the street to the pizza place. As I put the Bounty in hover mode and gently dropped the anchor, Lloyd finished retrieving all the weapons. He grabbed the sword and the scythe, while I grabbed the nunchucks and the shurikens.

“I wonder what happened,” I wondered aloud.

Lloyd shrugged. “Knowing them, it could be anything.” He shifted the long weapons in his arms. “Come on, let’s go.”

The two of us made our way out of the bridge, onto the deck, and down the anchor’s chain to land on the roof. We then climbed off the building and walked down the street to Buddy’s Pizza, which didn’t take too long. Before I knew it, we were walking through the sliding doors into the pizza place, each carrying an armful of weapons. The wonderful smell of pizza made my stomach growl--I hadn’t eaten lunch yet--but I focused on the mission at hand.

Lloyd and I looked around, searching for the ninja. All we saw at first was other kids, eating at tables or boisterously playing arcade games in the back. We walked further in, but still saw no sign of them. The only adult we saw was an employee, strutting out from the back room. We exchanged confused looks; where were they?

Then, someone caught our attention from off to our right. “Psst, Lloyd, Aurora.”

We whirled around to face four kids sitting in a booth. The one that had grabbed our attention wore a red hoodie, and had familiar spiky brown hair…

“Beat it, brat,” Lloyd told him, already turning away. “We’re on a mission.”

He started to walk away, and I started to follow him, but the boy grabbed his arm. “It’s me,” he urged. “Kai.”

Lloyd and I turned back to the four kids. My eyebrows furrowed in confusion, and I stared at them all for a long moment. Spiky brown hair… Shaggy black hair… Clean-cut platinum hair… Reddish brown hair…

My eyes widened when I recognized them. These four kids _were_ the ninja!

Lloyd and I simultaneously gasped, dropping the weapons in shock. “No way!” I exclaimed in surprise.

“Whoa!” Lloyd yelled. “What happened?! You’re...uh, uh, _small_!”

He had yelled it so loud that everyone in the restaurant heard him. They all went silent, turning their attention to us.

“Keep it down!” Kai hissed at him. It was weird to hear his voice at a higher pitch. “We’re trying to lay low. Your father’s Mega-Weapon not only turned us into kids, but unleashed a creature whose sole purpose is to hunt down ninja.”

Cole scoffed. “Typical Garmadon.”

“And now, every time we try to tell someone, they won’t believe us ‘cause we’re kids!” Jay exclaimed.

Lloyd and I picked up the weapons we dropped as they talked. Once they were done, we both exchanged a look, slowly smiled, and then burst out laughing.

“What’s so funny?” Kai asked.

I fought to stop my snickering. “Oh, the irony…”

Lloyd smirked. “Whoa. I guess you now know what it feels like to be treated differently.”

He and I threw the weapons down onto the table, both still grinning smugly.

“Look, this is serious,” Zane stated in his adorable, high-pitched voice. “If we don’t turn big so that we can use our Spinjitzu, we don't stand a chance against the Grundal.”

Ah, so _that’s_ why they needed the weapons! _Why can’t they use their Spinjitzu when they’re small?_ They were mine and Lloyd’s age, and the two of us could use Spinjitzu.

“Well, what about me and Aurora?” Lloyd asked them, thinking the same thing I was. “We know Spinjitzu.”

“Yeah, but you don’t know the Grundal,” Kai pointed out. “We all need to be at full strength. What we need to do first is to find someone who might know more about how to defeat one of those things.”

I glanced at Lloyd, only to see him staring at something. I followed his gaze to see somebody holding a Starfarer comic, and he was smiling at it. I could tell that he had some sort of idea… But what?

“Lloyd, focus!” Cole admonished, seeing that his attention was elsewhere.

“I am,” Lloyd informed him, facing the ninja again. “I think I know just the guy.”

I looked at him curiously. “Who?”

He merely smirked in response. “You’ll see.” 

Grabbing my hand, he pulled me out of the restaurant in excitement, running down the sidewalk with me as I laughed. The ninja caught up with us and followed close behind. As we neared our destination, Lloyd let go of my hand, and we all slowed to a walk. The place we were going to was Ninjago’s very own Doomsday Comix. I was a little confused as to why we were here, but I trusted Lloyd and went with it. 

_Plus, perhaps we can get that latest issue of Starfarer while we’re here!_

Lloyd led the way inside, still smirking confidently. We all stopped inside the store, and I gazed around in awe. There were so many comic books everywhere, along with tons of cool nerdy merchandise. I spied a few things from Starfarer, and soon I was grinning like a kid in a candy store.

Well, I suppose this was close enough to that.

“You brought us to a comic book store?” Cole asked Lloyd, sounding unimpressed.

“Trust me,” Lloyd assured him. “If there’s anyone who knows how to defeat a monster that doesn’t exist, I know just the person to talk to.”

I walked next to Lloyd as we led the group down the aisle. Kai walked up and grabbed Lloyd’s shoulder, turning him around. “We’re not going to pick up your stupid comic, Lloyd!” he exclaimed. “This is serious business.”

I decided to intervene. “We know that, Kai!” I assured him. “I think Lloyd really has somebody that can help. We should go with it; it’s definitely worth a shot.”

Kai groaned, and Lloyd smiled at me in thanks.

Suddenly, Jay gasped. “Look! A first edition Daffy Dale!” He had plucked a comic from the shelf, excitedly pointing at it. “I used to love that nut growing up.” He laughed, but when the others stared at him, he calmed down and grew serious again. “Ahem. So juvenile.”

I snickered at his geek-out moment.

Lloyd then went behind everyone, ushering us all up to the front counter. A guy with a beard and long brown hair pulled back into a low ponytail stood behind it. “Everyone, meet Rufas McCallister, AKA Mother Doomsday,” Lloyd introduced.

The man behind the counter smiled when he spotted Lloyd. “Well, if it isn’t Lloyd ‘Hemorrhoid’ Garmadon!”

I tried my absolute best to hold in a laugh. _Uh… Hemorrhoid?!_ Oh I was so teasing him on that later.

“Sorry if you came looking for the latest Starfarer,” Mother Doomsday said. “I’m all sold out.”

“Wha--- Sold out?!” Lloyd exclaimed in shock, panicking.

I, too, was distressed at the news that the comic we’d desperately wanted to read was sold out. However, there were more pressing matters right now. I placed a hand on Lloyd’s back, calming him down and gently reminding him why we were really here.

He came to his senses. “Ah! Uh! Oh, uh, actually, Mother Doomsday, we need help.”

“Well, color me intrigued,” Mother Doomsday said, smiling.

I walked forward with Lloyd, nodding. “We have a bit of a problem, and we’d appreciate your advice.”

His attention turned to me. “Why hello there, little lady!” he greeted me happily. “Lloyd, is this your girlfriend?”

“What?!!” Lloyd and I exclaimed at the same time. He started sputtering, and I turned away, blushing profusely. I could see him turn a shade of red as well. _Oh, this is embarrassing…_ _Why the heck would he assume that?!_ We were far too young for that kind of stuff! And besides, Lloyd and I were best friends! We weren’t all mushy and gross like Nya and Jay were.

“T-That’s not important right now!” Lloyd eventually answered. “There’s a Grundal on the loose, and we need to know how to deal with it.”

Mother Doomsday leaned forward, intrigued. “Ah, a theoretical question!”

“Yeah, theoretical,” Lloyd echoed. “Can you help?”

The man lowered his chair, disappearing behind the counter. He then walked out from behind it, coming to stand in front of us. “Dromaeosaurid Theropod Grundalychus. Whoo!” He walked over to a shelf of comics. “Although extinct, there have been a plethora of film, television, and comics exploring the mythology around the primordial predator.” He picked up a comic book featuring the Grundal. “Supposedly, they always get their prey.”

I gulped, growing a little nervous. _And this thing is loose in the city somewhere?_

“Sounds like he knows his stuff,” Kai whispered to us.

“Can it be stopped?” Lloyd asked his friend.

Mother Doomsday smiled. “First thing you need to know is its thick shell-like hide is invincible to swords, scythes, nunchucks, and throwing stars. So your cheap imitations will do nothing to slow him down.”

“Swell,” Cole groaned.

I sighed. _So Lloyd and I carried their weapons all this way for nothing._ So what the heck could stop it?

“Second of all, it’s nocturnal,” he informed us, “and will only hunt at night.”

Jay sighed in relief. “Oh, good! It’s still daylight, so we can relax for a bit.”

Mother Doomsday frowned in confusion. Kai gave Jay a look, and he cleared his throat. “Ahem. I meant, uh, theoretically…”

Mother Doomsday bought it and went on. “And the only way to defeat it is with light. Like a vampire, with enough of it, it could potentially destroy him.” He walked over to a display case, and we all followed him. Inside the case were four magenta light swords. “If I had my weapons of choice, may I recommend the Illumisword.” He threw open the doors dramatically. “These are authentic replicas that would come in handy, were you to live long enough to actually face a Grundal. And if swords are your thing, maybe I can interest you in an authentic Ninja Gi, signed by the very ninja that saved the city.”

We all turned to see another display case. Sure enough, it had four replicas of all the ninja’s gis inside of it. I hid a smile at the sight. _Been there, done that._

“Ah… We’ll just take the light swords,” Kai told him, walking forward to grab them from the display case.

Mother Doomsday grabbed his wrist as he reached for them. “Not so fast. This Starfarer combo pack can only be won in the Fritz Donnegan trivia battle royale.” He gestured to a group of kids gathered nearby, all dressed as some sort of character from the Starfarer series. “Do you have what it takes to be the best?”

I smiled, putting a hand on Lloyd’s shoulder. “You’ve so got this, Lloyd,” I stated.

Lloyd nodded, smirking confidently. “Sign me up!”

. . .

After about an hour of intense trivia competition, it was down to Lloyd and one other boy. The two of them stood on the stage, and I watched my best friend in excitement. I was so proud of him for making it this far, even if he didn’t end up winning. He had this in the bag---I knew he did!

Before the competition had started, we’d thought it’d be a good idea to leave a voicemail on the Bounty’s phone, just in case Sensei and Nya came back while we were gone. I had no idea where they were now, but I hoped they were okay.

“It’s down to the final two,” Mother Doomsday announced dramatically. “This question is for Lloyd.”

I cheered his name loudly with everyone else. “Lloyd! Lloyd! Lloyd!”

The question was asked. “What is Fritz Donnegan’s famous catchphrase?”

Oh, that one was easy. I watched Lloyd make a serious face, going into character to answer the question. I mouthed the catchphrase with him as he said it. “Fear? Fear is not a word from where I come from!”

“Correct!” Mother Doomsday exclaimed. “We’re all tied up!”

Everyone cheered in excitement. I smiled brightly, cheering loudly for my best friend. Lloyd waved at me.

Zane leaned over to speak to us. “It’s getting dark,” he pointed out. “The Grundal will be on the prowl soon.”

“Don’t worry,” Kai told him. “I got faith Lloyd can win those Illumiswords.”

I nodded in agreement. “He’s got this!”

We heard an obnoxious licking sound, and turned to see Jay eating cotton candy. “Is this really the best time to be eating cotton candy?” Kai asked him, annoyed.

“It makes me feel young,” Jay stated, “deal with it.”

“Final question!” Mother Doomsday announced.

I snapped my head back in Lloyd’s direction. My heart started racing.

“The first person to answer this will win!” He turned to the contestants as I crossed my fingers. “In the latest issue of Starfarer, how did Fritz Donnegan escape the Imperial Sludge?”

Immediately, my smile vanished, and my excitement turned to nervousness. _Oh no…_ Lloyd hadn’t read the latest issue yet! There was no way he could know the answer! _Just our luck…_

Lloyd’s confident smile vanished when he realized this, too. “Uh, it, uh… But I haven’t read the latest issue!”

The other boy answered for him. “By reversing the polarity of the ship’s gravity transducer!”

“We have a winner!” Mother Doomsday announced, turning back to the crowd.

Everyone cheered loudly, except for me and the guys. The ninja all frowned, looking away in defeat. I gave Lloyd a soft smile, letting him know that it was okay. _After all, it’s not his fault,_ I thought bitterly. _If certain someones had let us go out and buy the latest issue yesterday, then Lloyd would’ve won, no problem!_ I turned to the ninja, ready to tell them as much.

Before I could, however, the lights suddenly went out.

“Who shut off the power?” Mother Doomsday wondered aloud as the building shook.

We all watched as the large neon sign out front sparked, then fell off the building, crashing onto the sidewalk below. I yelped in shock.

“It’s here,” Kai whispered in fear.

“What’s here?” Mother Doomsday asked slowly.

Jay turned to him. “You know that theoretical discussion we had earlier?” He laughed nervously.

I looked upward at the glass roof. A giant, dark red beast head came into view, and I gasped. _Oh no… It’s the… It’s the…_ I gulped.

Mother Doomsday gulped, too. “Not the…”

The monster’s massive, clawed feet stepped on the glass roof, making it crack loudly.

“GRUNDAL!” everyone shouted. The kids all panicked, screaming and running towards the exit.

“We’ve gotta get out of here!” Zane exclaimed. 

We all ran towards the front door. I ran with Lloyd. Zane tried to open the door, but it wouldn’t budge. The store’s sign had fallen in front of the door, barricading us inside.

“The door is jammed. We can’t get out!” Zane announced.

We all turned around and looked up. “Look!” Jay exclaimed. “It’s coming!”

The Grundal stomped across the glass roof. We backed up as his feet broke the glass, and eventually he crashed through the roof, landing inside the store.

“Ah!” Jay screamed. “We’re doomed!”

“Doomed as Britt Sarsovski in the Phoenix War, page fifteen!” Mother Doomsday added.

He and all the other kids ducked as the Grundal’s tail came swooping over their heads. They were all huddled in the corner, but thankfully the Grundal was facing us ninja children by the entrance. Well, that wasn’t a good thing, but it was better than it attacking innocent children. The Grundal’s tail smashed everything it came into contact with---including the ninja gi display case.

“Quick! This way!” Jay exclaimed, leading us around the Grundal and off to the sides. The four ninja grabbed the replica suits and the Illumiswords, preparing to fight the beast. Meanwhile, Lloyd and I took shelter behind the front counter, pulling our masks on. There weren’t swords for us, unfortunately, but we still remained nearby in case the ninja needed help.

“Hey, McNasty!” Cole shouted at the Grundal. “I thought ninja were on your menu!”

He and the other ninja swung their Illumiswords at the Grundal when it came near them. The beast shied away from the lights in fear, roaring in pain.

“It’s working!” Kai exclaimed.

The four of them kept walking forward, thrusting their light swords forward as the Grundal backed up. One by one, each of them leapt to attack the monster. Unfortunately, as soon as the swords made contact with the Grundal’s skin, they broke. Even though the swords were effective, they were still only toys.

“We got a problem, guys!” Jay exclaimed.

I ducked back behind the counter with Lloyd. “We have to do something!” I stated.

He nodded. “We will.”

The Grundal charged forward, knocking the four ninja away with a swipe of its claws. They went tumbling into a corner, huddling together in fear as Cole held the last working Illumisword. The Grundal’s face hovered over them, showing its many large, terrifyingly sharp teeth. All of the ninja started screaming in terror.

That was when Lloyd and I rose dramatically from behind the counter, standing on the chair as it rose to its full height. “Not to worry!” Lloyd exclaimed. “We’ll take care of this.”

“Your heroes have arrived!” I announced dramatically.

The terrified, shivering ninja kids all turned back to us. “Lloyd! Aurora!”

Lloyd and I dug deep within ourselves, finding our elements. He formed a bright green orb of energy, while I formed a bright yellow orb of light. The two orbs of power worked together to create a radiant beacon in the darkness. The blinding green and yellow lights blinded the Grundal, making it roar and hiss in pain. It backed away as we made our orbs bigger and bigger. I tried to pour every ounce of power I had into the light orb, trying my best to take advantage of the Gundal’s weakness that just so happened to be my specialty.

“Woo-hoo-hoo!” Cole cheered.

“Alright!” Kai exclaimed.

Suddenly, the Grundal spun around and swung its massive tail at us. It whacked me and Lloyd off the counter and into the corner, also knocking said counter over. I lay slumped against the wall, my head spinning. The blow had dazed me. I tried to gather my bearings again, groaning in pain.

I heard the front door slam open, and familiar voices follow. “Everyone out!” a voice shouted. It was Nya!

A flurry of footsteps followed her words. I was relieved that the other kids made it out safely. I grunted, trying to pick myself up. Lloyd was doing the same next to me.

“Use this!” I heard Sensei Wu shout.

I assumed Jay caught something. “What is it?”

“It’ll turn forward the hands of time, turning you old, and reducing the Grundal back to dust and bones!” Sensei Wu quickly explained. “But be careful! There’s no turning back!”

The four ninja hopped onto the overturned counter in front of us as the Grundal cornered them. Lloyd and I finally sat up, watching them anxiously.

“Grundal, prepare to be extinct!” Jay shouted, bringing his arm back to throw the jar of tea.

Cole put an arm in front of him. “Wait! But what’ll happen to Lloyd and Aurora? They’ll grow old, too!”

The thought never occurred to me until he said it. The ninja would be back to normal, but...Lloyd and I would suddenly grow up, too. We’d both be older---and we’d never be the same again. Sensei said that there was no going back, so it probably couldn’t ever be reversed.

But...what choice did we really have? There was no escape for us. It was either grow older and save the city, or be eaten by the Grundal. The choice was obvious. We _had_ to do this.

“Just do it!” Lloyd told them.

“We’ll be fine, guys!” I assured them.

Jay protested. “You’ll both miss out on the rest of your childhood!”

“We can’t do that to you!” Kai agreed. “I-It’s not fair!”

That was when the Grundal knocked the remaining Illumisword from Cole’s hand. It surged forward and violently snapped its jaws at them, knocking them all backwards. The four of them landed in front of us, and the jar of tea flew into the air and landed on Lloyd’s chest. He grabbed it, and the two of us stood up, facing the snarling Grundal above us.

The two of us took a second to lock gazes. At that moment, a mutual agreement passed between us, and we both knew what we had to do. Both of our gazes said that we would stand with each other, and face this together, like we did with everything. We nodded at each other decisively, and we grabbed each other’s hand as we both turned to stand tall before the Grundal.

“Fair?” we both said together, changing the quote a little bit. “Fair isn’t a word from where we come from!”

Hand-in-hand, we stood together, and Lloyd threw the jar at the Grundal’s face. It shattered on impact, releasing a purple mist. The Grundal began roaring loudly, its skin slowly turning back to dust as the mist consumed us all.

“They used it!” Sensei Wu exclaimed.

It was the last thing I heard before everything went dark...

Thankfully, I wasn’t out long. My eyes slowly blinked open, and I saw the familiar corner of the comic store, so I knew not a lot of time had passed. I didn’t hear any Grundal noises, so that was a relief. I groaned, blinking to clear my head and I raised it up. I felt...strange. Different. I shook my head to try and clear the feeling, but instead I felt my hair shift. _It’s longer…_

That tea… It turned whoever used it older. So...that meant that I was…

I heard Sensei Wu’s voice from the other side of the counter. “But what about Lloyd and Aurora?”

Slowly, I pushed myself to my feet. It took longer than I was used to, but then I realized it was because my legs and arms were both longer. I stood up all the way, wobbling slightly. My eyes were wide as I turned and studied myself: my longer arms, my longer legs, my grown-out hair. _It… It really worked._

I looked around to see the ninja, Nya, and Sensei Wu staring at me in shock. They were staring at someone else, too, and my eyes sought out my best friend. When I turned to him, he turned to me, too, and both of our eyes widened even more at the startling sight of each other.

Lloyd had grown, too. I stared at him in amazement and shock. He was a lot taller, and his sandy blond hair had grown out a little more. A few bangs now hung over his face. He was a boy no longer---like me, he’d grown into a teenager, now as big as he was gonna get. That meant that we both finally fit into our ninja gis; the familiar bunches of rolled-up fabric had vanished after we’d grown.

My voice spoke on its own, and I was startled by how different it sounded. “Lloyd?”

He spoke, too---and I was startled yet again at how different his voice was as well. “Aurora?”

“We’re…”

“Older...”

The two of us stood in shocked silence for a few moments, looking down at ourselves and each other. _Did that just happen?_ It all felt like a long dream. _This is really happening, isn’t it?_

Sensei walked up to us. “The time for the Green Ninja and Yellow Ninja to face their destinies has grown nearer,” he stated solemnly.

The four other ninja--all now back to normal--came up behind me and Lloyd. They all smiled at us, placing a hand on each of our shoulders. Their confidence in us made me smile, and I turned to Lloyd once again. He was smiling, too. We stared into each other’s eyes, nodding confidently. It appeared that we were still of the same mind. That was when I realized that nothing had truly changed.

“We’re ready,” Lloyd told Sensei confidently.

I nodded in agreement. “You bet we are.”

Together, the eight of us made our way out of the comic store. Before Lloyd and I left, Lloyd was stopped by Mother Doomsday.

“Here ya go, Lloyd,” he said, smiling and holding a comic book up to him. “You can have my copy of Starfarer. You deserve it.”

Lloyd half an hour ago would’ve taken that comic in a heartbeat. But I already knew that he wasn’t going to.

“That’s okay,” Lloyd said, gently pushing the comic back to him. “I already know how it ends.”

He turned to me, and we both exchanged smiles. Together, the two of us ran to catch up with the others---with our family.

Just like that, Lloyd and I had grown up. It would definitely take some getting used to.

But no matter what, I knew that we would face it together.

Just like we did with everything else.

~~~

_“There comes a time when we all must grow up. When that time comes, it’s important not to forget the lessons of our childhood, because our childhood is the greatest training one can ever have. Yes, the time until the final battle has grown shorter, but the Green Ninja and Yellow Ninja have both grown stronger.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you take the time to read this, then I grace you with classified information:
> 
> There, uh... There may be a nice fluffy filler chapter that'll be posted on, say...Friday?


	6. Episode 18: Wouldn't It Be Nice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Change is a fickle thing. It can either be bad...or it can be good.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A wild filler chapter appears! Yep! An entire chapter that's not entirely centered on an episode! Expect at least two more of these before the book is complete!
> 
> I'll be returning to the regular posting schedule on Wednesday. ...Well, we'll see how long that lasts, anyway; I get too excited to post certain chapters so there will probably be more early updates. ;)
> 
> Anyway, enjoy!  
> \------------------

There were fifty-two wooden planks on the ceiling in this bedroom. How did I know that? I had counted them. Twice. And why did I do something like that? 

Because I could _not_ fall asleep.

Sighing in frustration, I rolled onto my back for what felt like the hundredth time. For some stupid reason, I couldn’t make myself go to sleep. I didn’t even feel tired, despite the day’s chaotic events. Now that I thought about it, there were probably a few possible explanations.

We’d all eaten dinner after arriving back at the Destiny’s Bounty--you can probably guess our topic of conversation--and then we had all decided to turn in for the night. However, before Lloyd and I could retire to our room, the decision was made that the two of us wouldn’t share a room anymore. Now that I was a teenager, Nya claimed that I would “need my space.” I didn’t have a clue as to what she meant; Lloyd and I had gotten along just fine sharing a room. If anything, it had been fun, kind of like we were having a sleepover every night. Lloyd and I told them as much, but the others were insistent, telling us that this was for the best. It sounded weird to us, but Lloyd and I trusted their judgement. So, he moved into the room the other ninja were staying in, and I received full reign of the room we had been sharing.

I suppose I was having a problem with it now because I felt kinda lonely. After all, I had _never_ had my own bedroom before in my entire life; I hadn’t even slept anywhere alone until now. I’d shared a large room with other girls at the orphanage, so I had never known what it felt like to have my own private space. It was nice, sure, but it was an unfamiliar experience for me.

Maybe it wasn’t that at all. Maybe it was because of my...recent transformation. It felt weird; my body had grown, but my mind still felt the same. Longer legs were nice, but I had found myself tripping over my own feet earlier that night as I walked, still unused to the change. It was strange to just suddenly be...older.

Or perhaps I couldn’t sleep because I was thinking way too much about all of the above.

Whatever the case, I could not fall asleep. Sighing, I threw my legs over the side of the bed and hopped onto the floor, deciding to go outside to clear my head. I pushed open the door, tiptoeing up onto the deck so I wouldn’t wake anyone with creaky floorboards.

The night sky was beautiful, sprinkled with twinkling stars. The Bounty was outside the city, so I could make out more than usual when all the bright lights blocked them out. The moon illuminated the night with a soft silver glow, and since we were high up in the air, I felt close to it. Inhaling the cool air, I smiled, walking across the deck to the bow of the ship---stumbling once on the way, much to my annoyance. I leaned against the side, resting on my arms and gazing down at the sandy desert below.

I lost myself in my thoughts, trying to process everything I was thinking about so maybe I would stop pondering so much. I considered doing a few training exercises in order to wear myself out, but decided against it; if I changed into my gi, I wouldn’t feel the least bit sleepy anymore. The chilly night wind gently rustled my hair, reminding me of how much longer it was now. I grabbed a chunk of it, bringing it around in front of my face to look at it. _I should do something with it,_ I decided. _It would probably be best to keep it out of my face while training._

Right. Training. I wondered if my sudden growth spurt would have any effect on the rate my powers grew. Hopefully, it would; Sensei did say that the time of the final battle was near, so Lloyd and I would need to be at the peak of our game---and soon.

“Can’t sleep?”

Speaking of which. My head turned at the voice, smiling at the sight of Lloyd approaching where I stood. Like me, he had wandered outside in his pajamas (his were green, of course), and for some reason I found that amusing. Again, I noticed how slightly different his voice sounded. “How did you guess?” I asked him.

Lloyd walked up the stairs, stopping next to me. “Because I can’t sleep, either,” he explained.

“Then we’ll suffer together,” I proclaimed jokingly.

The two of us shared a laugh at my words. Lloyd mimicked my position, leaning on the side of the ship and looking out into the night. “So,” I said, after a moment of silence. “I know why I can't sleep. Why can’t _you_ sleep?”

My friend shrugged. “Eh, I guess I’m thinking too much about...well, everything. That, and Cole snores a lot.”

I snickered at the news. “Wait, he does?”

“Oh yeah,” Lloyd replied, smiling in amusement. “They should call him the ninja of thunder.”

That made me loudly laugh again, and Lloyd chuckled with me. I loved how he could always make me smile when I was feeling down, or take my mind off of whatever was bugging me. He was a great best friend.

“What about you?” Lloyd inquired after we were done laughing, curious to know why I couldn’t sleep either.

I copied his shrug from earlier. “Same as you, I guess. I’ve got too much on my mind right now. And, well… I’m still not used to…” I gestured to all of me. “This.” I smiled in amusement. “I mean, it’s great to be taller and all, but I keep...tripping over my own feet…” As soon as I told him that, I felt embarrassed, wishing I hadn’t said it after all.

He didn’t seem to think much of it, though. “Really?” Lloyd asked. “I haven’t noticed.”

I wasn’t sure if he was just saying it to be nice, or really hadn’t noticed at all, but I was grateful for it. “Good,” I told him. “One less thing to worry about...”

We descended into a comfortable silence for a few minutes, the two of us gazing out into the night and the land far below. Sadly, I still wasn’t sleepy yet, but talking with Lloyd had somewhat calmed the blaze of thoughts in my mind. Even though we hadn’t said much, I wasn’t thinking so much about everything anymore. I wondered that if I continued to say what was on my mind, then maybe I’d stop thinking so much? Perhaps my body would finally let me sleep after that.

After another minute, I lightly chuckled when I thought of something.

The noise made Lloyd turn to me, asking, “What is it?”

“I was just remembering how we were both always kind of excited to grow up,” I told him, smiling as I explained. “How we sometimes talked about how nice it would be if we were just a little bit older, so that we would stop being treated like helpless kids. How we would finally be able to fight and help out and stuff.” I frowned. “And now…”

Lloyd smirked. “Guess we got our wish,” he stated. “Kind of ironic, huh?”

“Yeah,” I agreed, trying my best to smile. To be quite honest, I wasn’t sure how to feel. After a pause, I spoke up again. “I know that we did the right thing. We had to save everyone, no matter what, and I’m glad we could do that.” I sighed, not completely sure where I was going with this. I looked down at my hands---the same hands I’d always had, and yet also not the same. “I don’t regret making that decision, even if it means we can never go back. But…I’m not sure what to think now. It all just feels so...so…”

“Different?”

That exactly summed up how I felt. I nodded at Lloyd in agreement. “Different.”

We continued to face one another as he said more. “You’re not alone,” Lloyd assured me. “That’s how I feel, too. But I’m not gonna let it get to me. Know why?”

I thought for a moment, then replied half-jokingly, “Because we have an amazing destiny to fulfill?”

Lloyd chuckled at my response. “Partly, yes.” He reached over and placed a hand on my shoulder. “It’s because a wise friend once told me that we cannot change the past, but we can affect the future.”

He was referring to me, I knew. I also knew that he was absolutely right.

I then snickered. “Lloyd, you do remember that I’m not the one who originally said that, right?” I asked him, smiling. “That’s your uncle’s quote, not mine. I don’t plagiarize.”

Lloyd nodded at me, mirroring my smile. “I know,” he assured me. “But I didn’t truly understand what it meant until it came from you.”

Wow. I...did not know how to respond to that. My smile turned shy, and I gave him a look to let him know I understood. I wasn’t sure what to say after that, so I remained silent, looking up at the starry night sky one more time. Lloyd was right; we couldn’t change what had happened, and no matter how weird or strange things were gonna be from now on, we would get through it. Being older would definitely take some getting used to, but I knew that everything would be just fine.

After a few minutes, a large yawn forced its way from my mouth. “Whoa,” I muttered once my mouth closed, almost disoriented by the sheer force of the yawn.

“Looks like you’re tired now,” Lloyd pointed out in amusement.

“Finally,” I added, snickering. _Time to call it a night I suppose_ , I decided, realizing that I actually did feel sleepy. “Maybe I can actually fall asleep now.”

Lloyd chuckled. “Maybe I can, too. We’ll find out soon enough.”

A guilty thought struck me, and I cringed. “Sorry you got kicked out of our room…”

“Hey, don’t apologize,” Lloyd told me, waving his hand dismissively. “Wasn’t your decision. Besides, Cole’s snoring isn’t _that_ bad. I’ll get used to it.”

I giggled. “Well, if you say so.”

My hands let go of the side of the ship as I stepped back, ready to head back to my room. I began walking in that direction, intending to wish Lloyd a good night as I walked by him. Unfortunately for me, I wasn’t paying attention again, and misstepped, tripping on air once again. I cried out in surprise as I fell forward, already bracing myself for the inevitable impact on the floor.

But my fall stopped short. A figure of green swiftly moved in front of me, and I stopped halfway to the ground. I was suspended by hands holding me up under my arms, and the tips of my feet clutched on the floor behind me. I looked up to see that Lloyd had swiftly caught me before I could crash, and he was now looking down at me as I looked up at him.

Strangely, neither one of us moved a muscle. We both just froze where we were, staring at each other and saying nothing. I remained awkwardly hanging over the ground with nothing but his hands keeping me from falling, and I had no idea what had come over me. All I could do was stare up at his face. That was when I truly took note of how different he looked, of how much he’d grown. His sandy blond hair was longer and just a little messier, a few stray strands hanging above his widened eyes. I was sure that my eyes were that wide now, too. I could still see the eyes of the younger Lloyd that I’d met what seemed like a lifetime ago, but now there was a certain maturity to them. However, I had no idea as to what he could be thinking at the moment, as we both just stood there, frozen.

At that moment, I realized with a shock that I actually found Lloyd... _handsome_.

I had no idea how long it was before whatever spell the two of us were under finally broke. We both moved again at the same time, Lloyd quickly helping me back to my feet and then retreating a small distance away from me as I did the same. My cheeks burned, and it wasn’t because of the chilly night breeze. I began to laugh sheepishly, and Lloyd started to do the same. An overwhelming feeling of embarrassment filled me, along with something else I couldn’t comprehend at the moment. I tried to avoid looking at him, but a quick glance let me know that his cheeks were pink---still probably not as pink as mine were, I was sure.

Despite my humiliation, I knew I had to say something, anything, to relieve this awkward tension. “T-Thanks,” was what came out of my mouth. I tried my best to smile, giving my friend a grateful look.

Lloyd seemed to quickly return to his normal self, and he nodded. “No problem,” he replied with a smile.

If Lloyd had no problem acting normal again, then I felt compelled to do the same. Chasing away my embarrassment and weird feelings away for now, I continued to smile, trying to act as normal as possible. “W-Well, uh… Goodnight, Lloyd!” I said, paying attention to where I was putting my feet this time as I slowly shuffled past Lloyd.

He rubbed the nape of his neck. “Goodnight, Aurora,” he told me as I went by, still smiling as well.

After shooting him one last overexaggerated grin, I turned around, walking toward the door to my room. My smile faded away as I tried not to walk too fast but not too slow either. I had to get to the privacy of my room and sort out whatever I was feeling… Was this walk longer than I remembered?

Finally, I reached the entrance to my room. I quickly shut the door as soon as I was inside, and then leaned against it, breathing out a sigh of relief. _What just happened?_ _What was that? Why oh why did I have to trip in front of him?_ I covered my face with my hands, groaning in shame.

Wait a minute. Why did I even care this much? And what exactly had happened between the two of us back there? The memory of staring up into his eyes as he stared down into mine played over and over again in my mind, and I had no idea why it was standing out so much. The experience had filled me with some sort of foreign feeling that I couldn’t place, and I realized that the feeling was still lingering within me now. It was weird, but not necessarily bad.

What was _wrong_ with me?

I then realized that it was probably just because I was embarrassed for awkwardly falling in front of him. I had really, really wanted to not stumble over my own feet in front of any of my friends, but sadly fate had other plans. That was probably why I was feeling so embarrassed and flustered now.

I nodded to myself, accepting this. _Yeah. That’s it._ Breathing out a sigh, I pushed myself off the door. _Now, go to bed. It’s finally time you got some sleep._ I knew that the longer I stayed awake, the more tired I would be during training tomorrow. Climbing into bed, I burrowed myself beneath the sheets and sighed in content, glad that I finally felt sleepy. Another yawn escaped my mouth as I laid down, and I smiled.

As I closed my eyes, I couldn’t help but keep thinking about what had just happened. That weird feeling I’d felt...what was it? Where had it come from?

_Ah, it’s probably nothing,_ I assured myself as I drifted off to sleep.

. . .

The next morning, I woke up surprisingly well-rested, despite my troubles with falling asleep last night. I felt awake and refreshed, sighing in content as the sunlight streamed through the window. I knew it would be time for training soon, so I sat up and began to stretch my tired muscles. It took a little longer than normal, as my limbs were all longer now, but that was something I would quickly get used to.

As I remembered last night’s events, I couldn’t help but cringe. However, I tried not to think about it, determined to not let it ruin my good mood today. I hopped out of the bed, getting ready for training.

After putting on my ninja gi--I was once again pleased that it now fit properly--I stood in front of the mirror in the corner, staring at my hair. I remembered my thoughts last night of doing something different with it. My hair had never really hindered me during training before, but that was because it had been a little shorter then.

After a minute of debating with myself, I decided to tie half of my hair up with a yellow hair tie that conveniently happened to be lying around (where had it come from?). I pulled the sides of my hair that were hanging close to my face and brought them to the back of my head, successfully tying together the top layer of my hair in order to keep it out of my face. Once I was done, I studied it in the mirror as best as I could. I smiled, satisfied with the way it looked. I realized that I could always ask Nya for hairstyle pointers later.

Finally ready, I practically scurried out the door, ready for food and for whatever the new day would bring.

. . .

“Your new bodies are fighting instruments,” Sensei Wu instructed me and Lloyd. “Listen to them.”

Lloyd and I stood back-to-back in the middle of the room, our eyes closed as we concentrated. I reached within myself, connecting with my instincts and listening to my body, just as Sensei told me to. The four other ninja were surrounding us, each in a separate corner of the room with their weapons of choice. Lloyd and I held no weapons ourselves, and we waited for them to attack us.

The next sequence of events seemed to happen in slow motion. Cole suddenly attacked, swinging his scythe at us as he made a battle cry. My eyes flew open, and I spun out of the way while Lloyd threw his foot up behind him to kick the blade away. Jay tried to catch me off guard, and swing his nunchucks at me. I swiftly grabbed the end he wasn’t holding onto, and used all my strength to use it to fling him over my head. He went crashing down onto the floor, and I couldn’t hold back a smile. Then, Zane tossed his shurikens at us. Lloyd and I quickly leapt into the air, flying over the sharp blades as they spun across the room below us. The two shurikens ended up lodging themselves into a watermelon that Nya was holding, making both her and Zane gasp at the close call.

Nya turned to Sensei Wu. “Since they’ve grown, they’re both learning faster, Sensei,” she pointed out.

“But will it be enough to challenge Lord Garmadon?” Sensei Wu wondered aloud. “Only time will tell.”

Kai unsheathed his sword, twirling it in his hand as he pointed it at us menacingly. I stepped away, making a playful gesture to Lloyd for him to take this one. Lloyd growled in determination, and as Kai jabbed the sword at him, he caught the tip between his hands. He held the sword there with all his might, refusing to let it go any farther. I felt a rush of energy in the air, and an orb of green energy soon appeared between Lloyd’s hands where he held the sword. As the sword began to glow green, Kai suddenly yanked it away. The force of that caused Lloyd to topple over, falling to the ground, groaning.

Kai chuckled. “You’re getting pretty good,” he told Lloyd, walking over to help him stand back up, “but that move you fell for was basic one-oh-one.”

“Yeah, if I had focused more when I was little, I would’ve seen that coming,” Lloyd pointed out.

I giggled, walking up next to him. “Hey, blame the video games and comic books, not yourself,” I told him with a smile. “Those are pretty distracting.”

“We cannot change the past, but we can improve for the future,” Sensei Wu told us. Well, I guess he changed his quote, I noted. “Again. And this time, do not hold back.”

We all trained for the rest of the morning. Lloyd and I improved considerably, and Lloyd didn’t fall for any more of Kai’s tricks. I took pride in noticing that we were indeed both improving at an increased rate, as Nya had pointed out earlier. I supposed that was another good thing about growing up.

Around lunchtime, the ninja decided that Lloyd and I deserved a break, and that training would resume in the evening. After we ate, he and I spent a little time actually reading that book of Spinjitzu techniques that we had abandoned for the Fritz Donnegen comic. We learned a few helpful tips and tricks, which was great, as we both were still far from Spinjitzu masters. After that, we went our separate ways to relax a little. I could only sit still out in the fresh air on deck for so long, so I went to help Nya work on her Samurai X suit.

Unfortunately, I was having a little too much fun helping her work, and lost track of time. Evening came before I knew it, and I soon realized that I was late for training. After telling Nya bye, I scurried back to the training room, feeling guilty for not being punctual. As I turned the corner, I ran into Lloyd, who had also been dashing to the training room. We collided with each other, making us both stumble backward.

“Sorry!” we both shouted at the same time.

I smiled in amusement. “You’re late too, huh?”

“Yeah,” Lloyd admitted sheepishly. “I hope they’re not too angry with us…”

Together, we hurried the rest of the way to the training room. Lloyd and I jogged through the door, panting heavily as we arrived inside. The room was dark, only lit up by the moon's light and a few stray lanterns. The four ninja all stood inside, already holding their weapons and looking...sad?

“Sorry we’re late, guys,” Lloyd apologized to them, shutting the door behind us.

“We lost track of time,” I explained. “Are we ready to get training?”

When they saw us, the ninja’s faces all lit up in what looked like relief. “Ha! You’re still here!” Kai exclaimed.

The four of them all rushed in to hug me and Lloyd, surrounding us as they unexpectedly embraced us. “Uh… What?” I muttered, confused at their behavior.

“Yeah?” Lloyd replied, also sounding confused. “Why wouldn’t we be?”

The ninja all turned to each other. “So when we went back in time and destroyed Garmadon’s Mega-Weapon, that didn’t change anything?” Jay asked in disbelief.

Lloyd frowned. “My father has a Mega-Weapon?!”

“What are you guys talking about?” I asked them, now hopelessly confused.

“Wait a minute,” Kai interjected, holding the watermelon for some reason. “You’ve never heard of it?” He tossed the watermelon into the air, using his katana to slice it into five perfect slices, one for everyone but himself. We all caught them as they fell down.

I scratched my head, trying to figure out what he was going on about. “Doesn’t ring a bell,” I told him. No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn’t remember any sort of “Mega-Weapon.”

“I-I think I would’ve remembered that,” Lloyd stated. “Why? What is it?”

“Should we be concerned?” I asked them.

In response, the four ninja all merely started laughing. It was like they were all in on some inside joke that Lloyd and I didn’t get. He and I exchanged worried looks, still hopelessly confused. What was going on?

“Hey, what are you guys laughing at?” Lloyd asked them. “What’s so funny?”

“Are you four finally going nuts?” I asked, only half joking.

Lloyd tossed his slice of watermelon into the air, picking up Kai’s katana and slicing it up again. When it fell back into the palm of his hand, a perfect figure of a dragon sitting in the red fruit. I gawked at it, now more bewildered than anything. “When did you learn to do that?!” I squeaked out in shock.

“I’ll teach ya sometime,” Lloyd promised me.

Kai laughed, walking over and putting a hand on my shoulder and Lloyd’s. “I think some things are best left in the past. Come on, let’s just prepare for the future.”

His words made Jay, Cole, and Zane start laughing again, Kai not too far behind them. I was still confused out of my mind, and after exchanging another look with Lloyd, I knew that he was, too. _What in the world is going on?_

“I don’t get it,” Lloyd said.

I sighed, letting my head fall into my hand. “Something tells me that we never will…”


	7. Episode 19: The Stone Army

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lloyd gets to reunite with his mom! Yay!
> 
> Also, who else is thankful that the giant Stone Warrior seems to be the only one of its kind? I sure am!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're now back to regularly posting on Wednesday! I feel so bad making you all wait an entire week for each chapter, but I've already explained my reasons (I still feel bad though). If I'm being honest, I may end up posting another one of those filler chapters I mentioned before next week's update... We'll see!
> 
> As always, I hope you enjoy!  
> \-------------------

My eyes flew open as my alarm started screeching on the table nearby. Immediately, I flew out of bed and scurried over to it, switching it off. I sighed in relief once its horrible noise ceased. I yawned, stretching my limbs as I looked out the window at the early morning light. _Right, it’s Wednesday,_ I remembered. _Sunrise exercise day!_

Good thing I was becoming a morning person. Chasing my fatigue away, I began getting ready for training. The more I moved, the more awake I felt, and by the time I was ready to go, I felt fully refreshed and energetic. I was in another good mood today, it seemed, and I let it excite me as I went through a few quick stretches to prepare my muscles for training. Once I was done, I flipped out the door, laughing at my silliness as I went. I might be older now, but I was still a child on the inside.

I decided to go and meet the boys in their room. They were all probably groaning by now as they were forced to wake up, and one of them would most likely end up destroying their alarm clock again. I found Sensei Wu already heading that way as I pranced down the hallway.

“Good morning, Sensei!” I greeted him brightly.

Sensei chuckled at my enthusiasm, clutching a steaming cup of tea. “Ah, good morning, Aurora. Already up and about, I see.”

I giggled. “Yep! Awake and ready for training.”

“Good. I was on my way to fetch the others,” he informed me.

I spotted the boys’ bedroom door up ahead, and a brilliant idea struck me. Snickering, I ran ahead of Sensei Wu and toward their door. I put on a fake expression of panic as I frantically burst into their room.

“Guys!” I shouted. “Lord Garmadon is attacking!”

“What?!”

“Huh?!”

Cole and Zane immediately leapt out of bed and onto their feet, ready for danger. Jay fell out of his top bunk. Kai whacked his head on the bottom of Jay’s bunk, groaning in pain. And Lloyd got himself tangled in his blanket as he quickly tried to stand.

Their responses made me burst out laughing, clutching my stomach as I keeled over. “Gotcha!” I exclaimed, pointing at them all as I laughed.

The boys all collectively groaned at me. Cole’s and Zane’s fighting stances deflated, replaced with tired looks of annoyance.

“Aurora...” Lloyd admonished.

“Come on,” Kai groaned, rubbing his head.

Jay looked up from where he laid on the floor. “That wasn’t funny!”

“You’re right, it wasn’t funny,” I told him, still snickering. “It was hilarious!”

Sensei Wu then walked into the room behind me, chuckling quietly to himself at my little prank. “Good morning, morning, morning!” He raised his arms, waving his cup of tea around. “Up, up! It’s a new day, students.”

The five boys walked up next to me, all yawning and looking half asleep still. I looked out of place among them, as I was fully decked out in my ninja gi and armor and they were all still in their pajamas.

Sensei walked over to the window blinds, pulling them up and letting the sun’s bright light shine through. “Before we begin sunrise exercise, I noticed the dragon made another mess outside. It looks like a two-person job.” He chuckled softly as he left the room, closing the door behind him.

_Uh oh,_ I thought, cringing as I remembered the giant messes our dragon was capable of making.

“Uh, what was that, Sensei?” Cole asked, pretending like he didn’t hear him.

“Did I just hear an SOS come in?”

“I sense I need to be somewhere else!”

Cole, Kai, Jay, and Zane began to bolt, leaving me and Lloyd behind. I sighed, annoyed that they were trying to dump this on us. Again. It had happened way too often since we both came here.

Jay leaned in toward us, smiling. “Lloyd! Aurora! I’m sure one of you’ve got this. Heh.”

Apparently, Lloyd was tired of it, too. “Aw, you might’ve been able to dump chores on us when we were smaller, but we’re grown up now. That’s not fair!” he protested.

“You know what? He’s right!” I told the four ninja that were trying to quickly escape the room. “We need to take turns now or something. You guys can’t just run away anymore.”

Kai sighed, turning back around with the others. “You’re right,” he admitted. “We need to settle this like men.”

I loudly cleared my throat.

“And women,” Kai added hastily, walking back over to us with the others. “With a round of Rock, Paper, Clamp!”

He threw his fist down between us, and Jay, Cole, and Zane all followed suit. I shrugged, throwing my fist down into the group. I figured this was as fair a way as any to decide who had to do it. Lloyd frowned, reluctantly adding his fist last.

“Okay, on three,” Kai announced excitedly as we all raised our fists. “One, two, three!”

Everyone threw their fists back down, now making one of the three gestures. Kai, Jay, Cole, Zane, and I all had made the paper sign with our hands, leaving Lloyd as the only one making a rock sign. I inwardly cringed, already feeling sorry for him.

“Ha, ha!” Jay cheered, high-fiving Kai. “Paper beats rock!”

Lloyd groaned loudly. “How does paper beat rock?”

The others all celebrated their victory, walking off to get ready. I placed a hand on Lloyd’s shoulder, grinning brightly at him. “Don’t worry, Lloyd. I’ll help you!”

He looked at me, shaking his head. “You don’t have to do that…”

“It’s my dragon, too,” I pointed out. “I’ve gotta take responsibility for it. Besides, Sensei did say that it was a two-person job. I wouldn’t wish for you to clean up that mess by yourself.” I shuddered as I remembered the last mess the dragon had made.

Lloyd gave me a thankful smile. “You’re the best.”

After I left Lloyd to get dressed, I made my way down to the rooftop below the Bounty, where the dragon took residence. He greeted me after I hopped off the anchor, surrounding me with all four of his heads. I laughed and greeted him, making sure all his heads received attention and affection.

Not too long afterward, Lloyd joined me, and together we faced the heaping pile of stinky dragon dung that littered the corner of the roof, armed with shovels and protective goggles. After a lot of shoveling, gagging, and nose-plugging, the two of us finally managed to get all of the nasty stuff into a trash bag. A group of flies flew around the bag as we filled it, and even though it was closed off, it still stunk horribly. The others soon came down to check on us just as we were finishing.

Lloyd hesitantly picked up the rancid trash bag, turning his face away from it as I waved away the stench from my nose. “We always have to do the dirty work…” he grumbled.

“Hey, having a pet dragon requires a lot of responsibility,” Cole pointed out.

“Didn’t your moms ever let you guys have a pet?” Jay asked us.

Lloyd and I both grew a little sad, exchanging solemn, understanding looks. Lloyd pulled his goggles off his face and answered Jay. “I don’t remember my mother. She abandoned me when I was really young.”

His crestfallen expression broke my heart. I reached over and put a comforting hand on his arm, giving him a small smile. He returned it gratefully, knowing that I understood. I recalled the night he had first told me about this, atop a treehouse in the forest, not long after we’d first met.

“She just left?” Kai asked in disbelief. “Who took care of you?”

“I spent my whole life at Darkly’s Boarding School,” Lloyd told him.

Kai frowned in pity. He then turned to me and asked, “What about you, Aurora?”

I sighed, pulling my goggles off, too. They knew that I was an orphan, but I had never told them all the details. “I never knew my parents, either. Apparently, they left me on the orphanage’s doorstep when I was just a baby, and never came back.” To this day, I still wondered about them. Wondering if they were still out there somewhere.

Suddenly, the emergency alarm sounded above us from the Bounty’s PA system. Nya appeared, running towards us frantically. “Hey! I have a mission for you guys!” she announced. “It’s the Museum of History! They’ve asked for you guys! Something really strange has happened.”

  
  
“What?” Kai asked her.

“You’re gonna have to see it to believe it,” she told him ominously.

Lloyd quickly handed Nya his goggles and the bag of unspeakable mess. “Here, Nya, hold this,” he told her, giving her an apologetic look. Lloyd and I ran off after the others, leaving poor Nya with our dragon’s duty.

“Wait a minute! What am I supposed to do with these?”

. . .

The six of us, plus Sensei Wu, quickly arrived at the museum. We all quickly ran inside to meet the curator, who was worriedly pacing back and forth as we entered.

“Oh, thank heavens you’re here!” he cried out in relief.

“We heard there was an emergency?” Sensei inquired.

The curator nodded, gesturing for us to follow him. “Yes, come, come. Quickly, this way.” He led us all down a hallway to the left, explaining the situation as we walked. I spotted a few workers on the sides of the hall, mopping up some sort of familiar glowing green goo. “The Stone Warrior exhibit opens to the public tonight, and this couldn’t have come at a worse time.”

“Er…” Kai hummed. “What couldn’t have come at a worse time?”

“Ninjago City appreciates your help in destroying the Great Devourer some time back,” he explained, “but it appears its toxic venom has seeped into the city sewer system and has the most unusual after-effect.”

I frowned at the piles of goo lining the halls. _Is that what that is?_ I made the mistake of sniffing the air, and was rewarded with an absolutely horrible smell. Everyone made loud noises of disgust, quickly moving away from the stinky venom.

“Ugh… It stinks!” Kai exclaimed in disgust.

I nudged Lloyd as we walked away. “It smells worse than the dragon’s mess!”

He nodded in agreement. “No kidding…”

The curator led us to the gift shop, and opened the doors to an unusual sight. An army of mini novelty stone warriors had taken over the room, giggling and screaming as their eyes glowed a spooky green. I stared at them all in bewilderment. _What the heck?_

“The toxicity in the venom somehow brought our merchandise to life!” the curator explained. “They’re so unruly! I just didn’t know who else to call!”

One of the warriors leapt straight at Zane, who caught it in his hand. The mini warrior whacked Zane in the eye with his sword. Zane grunted in pain, immediately crushing the little guy with his hand, tossing it to the floor.

We all ventured inside, facing the mini stone warriors and pulling our masks on. “We’ve got this covered,” Jay stated confidently. “I think we can handle a few toys.”

The curator remained outside, starting to close the doors behind us. “And please, could you contain the fighting to the gift shop?” he requested. “The doors to the new exhibit will be opening soon. Thank you!”

He quickly shut the doors and was gone. Immediately, all of the mini warriors attacked, leaping at us and whacking us with their tiny stone swords whenever they could. We all worked together to destroy them, but at first they seemed endless. A bunch of them backed Lloyd into a corner, two of them pushing a bust decoration down on top of his head, making him fall backwards.

“Whoa!” he exclaimed as he fell. “Stupid little guys.”

After destroying the annoying three mini warriors clinging to my hair, I scurried over to help him crush the ones that had surrounded him. As I fought, I saw a few warriors spill marbles onto the floor near Cole and Kai, making them fall down as the stone warriors laughed at them in their high-pitched voices. We all regrouped, facing the annoying little figurines.

“Alright, play time’s over,” Kai announced. “Ninja, go!” He spun into his tornado of fiery Spinjitzu, charging right for the little warriors and destroying them with his vortex. He was also destroying the merchandise on the shelves.

“Kai, wait!” I shouted. “I don’t think that’s the best---”

“Ninja, go!” Cole, Jay, and Zane followed Kai’s lead before I could stop them. Their four Spinjitzu vortexes ravaged through the gift shop, tearing up everything in their path, stone warriors and expensive vases included. Lloyd, Sensei, and I watched as merchandise shattered, broke, and flew everywhere. A statue narrowly missed Sensei’s head.

Finally, once all the warriors were defeated, the four boys stopped, their tornadoes vanishing. That was when they saw their handiwork, realizing their mistake.

“Uh… Oops?” Zane said as one last vase toppled over and shattered.

I facepalmed, shaking my head. Then, out of the corner of my eye, I spotted one last mini stone warrior escaping through the door, cheering himself on. “Oh no, you don’t!” I muttered as I chased after it. He hopped down the hallway at a surprisingly fast speed, quickly ducking into another open door. I was right on its tail, sprinting after the little guy as he hopped at an impossible speed.

“Get back here!” I shouted at it, wondering how he was so fast. Deciding that enough was enough, I leapt into the air, letting out a battle cry. My foot crashed down onto the stone warrior, crushing it beneath my heel. “Hah!” I exclaimed in victory. “Take that, you little piece of---!”

I paused, as I sensed I was not alone. I turned around slowly and saw a woman standing there near the door, smiling at me in amusement. She looked around Sensei’s age, and had silvery gray hair that was tied in a long braid behind her back. I chuckled sheepishly, realizing that she must be a museum worker or something.

“Heh heh,” I laughed in embarrassment, turning to face her and pulling off my mask. “Sorry about that, ma’am…”

She chuckled in response. “Don’t apologize. I’m just glad you caught the little guy.”

I smiled, rubbing the nape of my neck. “Yeah...good thing.” I cleared my throat, deciding that I should at least introduce myself. “I’m Aurora, by the way.”

“Ah, the fabled Yellow Ninja,” the woman stated, apparently knowing exactly who I was. “I’m---”

“Misako?”

I looked behind me at the familiar voice, surprised to see Sensei Wu standing there. _He must’ve followed me or something,_ I realized. He stared at the woman, and his face looked...shocked?

The woman--Misako--smiled fondly at him. “Wu,” she greeted.

For the first time since I met him, I saw Sensei Wu actually get tongue-tied. “I… Uh…”

“It’s been a long time,” Misako stated, saving him from a response.

I looked back and forth between them, confused. _They know each other?_ _I wonder what the story is here._

Someone cleared their throat, and I saw Kai, Cole, Jay, and Zane walking into the hallway, smiling. “So, are you gonna introduce us?” Jay asked Sensei.

Sensei Wu cleared his throat, quickly regaining his composure. “Uh, yes. This is Misako,” he introduced, walking over to stand beside her. “Lloyd’s mother.”

The others and I all gasped involuntarily, and my eyes widened. _Wait...what?_

The guys parted, revealing Lloyd walking into the hallway. His shocked expression revealed that he had heard everything. “My… My mother?”

Misako gasped in delight when she saw her son. “Lloyd?” She slowly walked over to him, reaching out to him. “My little boy… You’re so much bigger than I remember.”

Lloyd immediately frowned, looking away from her. I could see the pain and sadness in his eyes from where I stood. “Yeah, well, it’s been a long time,” he told her spitefully, stepping away from Misako as she tried to touch his arm.

“I didn’t want us to meet like this,” his mother said. “I have a reason why I’ve been away---”

“Well, I don’t wanna hear it,” Lloyd proclaimed, cutting her off. He whirled around and started walking away.

Misako tried to stop him. “Lloyd, wait! Please!”

But he ignored her. Lloyd walked out of the hallway, loudly shutting the door behind him. Misako hung her head, visibly deflating.

I sighed, knowing what Lloyd must be going through. He was acting just a little childish, sure, but at the same time, he was only reacting how most people would react. I understood how he felt; if my parents just showed up out of the blue one day, I would probably be a little cross with them, too. But I would still want to know them… Lloyd had to give his mother a chance.

I walked up to Misako, placing a hand on her shoulder. “I’ll talk to him,” I assured her before letting go and following the path Lloyd had taken.

The museum was a maze of hallways, but it wasn’t too hard to predict which turns my best friend had taken. Soon enough, I found him in a room with a giant, gaping pit at the end of it, blocked off by a red ribbon. A few scroll paintings decorated the back wall, and I briefly wondered what exhibit this was. Lloyd was sitting on the edge of the hole, sulking as he started down into it. I walked over to him, slowly sitting down at his side, our shoulders almost touching. I wanted to make a witty comment about him sitting in such a precarious spot, but I decided that now was not the time.

After a moment, Lloyd spoke. “She thinks she can just show up out of the blue and pretend like nothing’s wrong,” he grumbled, crossing his arms angrily. “She abandoned me at that school years ago, and now she thinks I’m just gonna welcome her back with a smile and open arms?”

I sighed, putting a comforting hand on his arm. “Lloyd, I think you should give her a chance.”

“Like she gave me a chance?” he replied spitefully.

“Okay, yes, I get why you’re angry,” I assured him. “Honestly, if it were me, I’d be a little angry, too. But you heard her back there; she said that she had a good reason why she left you. And I’m betting that it’s an incredibly good reason for her to abandon her son like that. Can’t you at least give her a chance to explain, then pass judgement afterward? She’s your mother, Lloyd.” I looked down sadly. “I’d sure want to know my mother, if I ever found her again…”

Lloyd looked at me, processing my words in his mind. After a long moment, he finally sighed in defeat. “I...guess you’re right,” he admitted. “I should at least hear her out.” He then smiled, grabbing my hand that was touching his arm. “Besides, if she had never abandoned me, I would’ve never met you, Rose.”

That made me smile, giggling a little at how sweet his words were. He leaned forward and hugged me, and I was caught off guard for a moment before hugging him back happily. I found myself blushing for some reason---which was weird, as I had hugged Lloyd many times before and had never blushed. In fact, I hadn’t blushed at any physical contact with him before, until recently.

Maybe there really was something wrong with me.

“Sorry to ruin the moment, but I’d watch your step.”

Lloyd and I immediately broke away from each other, looking behind us to see Misako walking into the room, smiling at us. I grew a little embarrassed. _She saw that… Yay…_

“That sinkhole doesn’t have a bottom, son,” she informed us as she walked over to where we were. “It’s where I found the ancient Stone Warrior.”

Lloyd scoffed, growing spiteful again. “Uh, ‘son?’” he echoed. “You’ve been gone my whole life! There’s nothing you can say.”

I elbowed Lloyd’s arm, giving him a look. _Remember what I just told you,_ I reminded him with my eyes. He replied with a reluctant look of defeat.

“Well, I’m going to talk anyway,” Misako announced. She began walking around the edge of the hole as she spoke. “You wanna know what I’ve been doing all this time? Long before Sensei Wu ever knew who would be the Green Ninja, I knew it would be you. And I knew you would eventually have to fight your father. I dropped you off at the boarding school so I could go learn everything I could about the prophecy, in hope of one day preventing the final battle of good and evil. All this time, son, I’ve been trying to save you and your father.”

Lloyd looked up at her, interested in her words.

Misako walked in front of the scroll paintings hanging on the wall across from us. “Long before time had a name, Ninjago was created by the First Spinjitzu Master---”

“Yeah, yeah,” Lloyd interrupted. “We’ve heard this story a hundred times.”

I rolled my eyes, elbowing him harder this time. He muttered an “ouch” and I responded with another look like before. I heard multiple footsteps behind us, and briefly glanced back to see the others all walking into the room.

“You’ve only heard half of it,” Misako informed him. “In Ninjago, there has been balance between good and evil. So you know about how the First Spinjitzu Master created Ninjago, but what if I were to tell you in order for there to be light, there must be shadow, and within shadow, there is darkness. The blackest of darkness that existed from the very beginning. An evil spirit called the Overlord.”

_The Overlord…_ For some reason, that name sent a cold shiver down my spine.

“Did you know about this, Sensei?” Zane asked.

Sensei Wu sighed. “I had hoped if I’d kept the secret, that name would never be spoken again.”

Misako continued her story. “The balance was at stake, and their battle could've gone on for eternity. Each side powerful, neither could conquer the other, until the Overlord created his indestructible warriors: the Stone Army. The Spinjitzu Master did what he could, but he knew he would soon be defeated. So instead of losing the war, he divided Ninjago in two. And lucky for us, since then there has been no trace of the Overlord or his Stone Army...until my recent discovery.”

“So that’s why the battle has yet to be decided,” Kai realized. “It was never finished.”

“But where is this dark island?” Cole wondered. “I’ve never heard of it before.”

“Disappeared, I presume. But the legend states that so long as the balance between good and evil remains even, the Overlord shall remain trapped from this world,” Misako explained. She then turned to Lloyd. “I have always feared your father’s ambition will ultimately lead to a shift in the balance. That is why he must be stopped.”

“We have each felt the power of the First Spinjitzu Master, passed onto us in the form of the elemental weapons,” Sensei said. “But now that power has been inherited by the Green Ninja and the Yellow Ninja, which is why only Lloyd and Aurora together can defeat the ultimate evil. Or else all of Ninjago will fall prey to its darkness.”

Lloyd and I exchanged a look. _Once again, no pressure or anything…_

Misako spoke to her son once more. “Leaving you was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do. But faced with saving you and the world, I had _no_ other choice.”

Lloyd remained quiet, but gave his mother a nod of understanding. I smiled at the gesture, glad that he was finally giving his mother a chance.

After a moment, Lloyd asked her, “Have you discovered a way to prevent me and Aurora from facing my father?”

“I’m sorry, not yet,” Misako replied sadly. “But I have reason to believe there’s still hope.”

A loud crash suddenly came from behind us. We all whirled around to see a Stone Warrior like the ones from before peeking through the doorway it had just destroyed, but this one was _huge._ It towered at least thirty feet tall, and growled at us all menacingly. I gasped, leaping to my feet as it startled me.

“WHOA!” Jay yowled loudly. “Excuse me?! Will somebody please tell me WHAT THE HECK IS THAT?!”

“The Stone Warrior,” Misako exclaimed in disbelief, coming up behind Lloyd.

“The Devourer’s venom has awakened him!” Zane pointed out.

I sighed in frustration. _The Great Devourer’s been long gone, and it’s STILL causing problems for us!_

“Oh, great!” Cole groaned. “Kai, take care of him.”

“Uh… Me?” Kai echoed uncertainly. After pausing, he pulled his mask over his face. “Okay, blockhead. Take this!” He unsheathed his sword, charging straight for the Stone Warrior. He leapt at him, flipping in midair and striking his sword against the warrior’s. The Stone Warrior deflected the attack, shattering Kai’s sword as the fire ninja fell to the ground. Kai stared at his broken sword in shock. “Well… In my mind’s eye, I saw that playing out entirely differently.”

The Stone Warrior suddenly grabbed him by the foot, lifting him up into the air. Kai yelled as he dangled upside down.

“The Overlord created his Stone Army from an indestructible material only found on the Dark Island!” Misako informed him.

“Ah, great,” Kai groaned. “You could’ve mentioned that earlier.”

“Uh, she kinda did, Kai,” I told him matter-of-factly. “She said that the Overlord’s warriors were indestructible. Weren’t you listening?”

“Aurora, don’t talk back to me right now!”

I huffed, crossing my arms. “I was just saying…”

The Stone Warrior threw Kai over his shoulder, making him fly through the air and crash into a vase on the other side of the room beyond. From where I stood, he seemed to be mostly okay.

“Lloyd, Aurora, use your powers!” Sensei Wu ordered us.

_Showtime!_ The two of us walked forward, concentrating. I closed my eyes, bringing my hands together and connecting with my light. Slowly, an orb of bright yellow light began to glow between my hands, and I opened my eyes as it grew larger. I saw Lloyd summoning his energy, creating a large orb of his power like I was. Together, we both directed our powers at the Stone Warrior, attacking him with beams of energy and light. The two beams collided with him, creating a bright flash. When it dimmed, the warrior was gone, leaving green and yellow flames in his place.

We all immediately started cheering, celebrating our victory. Lloyd and I high-fived in triumph, and his mother patted him on the back. _Huh. That was easier than I thought it was gonna be._

Of course, it was indeed too good to be true. Through the fire, I saw the Stone Warrior rise back up, now growling at us angrily. Apparently, all we’d done was knock him over. Everyone gasped at seeing him again, and all I could think was: what now? The Stone Warrior began speaking incomprehensibly, making me gulp at how suddenly scary he was.

“Wait a minute,” Cole interjected as we all backed away. “How are we supposed to destroy this thing?”

“You can’t,” Misako told him in a grim tone.

I shook my head as I backed away next to her and Lloyd. “T-There’s gotta be some way…” The Stone Warrior’s glowing eyes leered at us menacingly, and I couldn’t tear my eyes away from them. “Right?”

The Stone Warrior spoke again, but I still couldn’t understand him. Cole, Jay, and Zane all pulled on their masks and charged forward at the warrior just as he broke through the doorway, attacking and throwing their weapons at him. Just like with Kai, their attacks had no effect. They didn’t even seem to slow the warrior down. Jay ran at him swinging his nunchucks, but the Stone Warrior batted him away like a fly, knocking him onto his back. He lifted his foot, almost stepping on Jay, but thankfully he flipped away to safety just in time.

“Easy, big guy,” Jay said, laughing nervously. “Maybe this is a sign you need to lose a few pounds. Heh heh.”

The Stone Warrior responded by knocking Jay away again. He slid across the floor, almost falling into the giant sinkhole. He screamed in panic, but Sensei pulled him to safety.

“Close call!” Jay exclaimed in relief.

Zane sprinted at the Stone Warrior, attempting to kick him in the chest. All that did was make him fly backwards from the collision, falling down back to the floor. I pulled my mask on, and we all tried attacking it at the same time, but none of our punches or kicks did anything to stop the warrior. One by one, he tossed us all out of the room and into the main exhibit that he’d tossed Kai into earlier. I collided with the wall hard and fell to the ground, groaning in pain. Cole helped pull me to my feet, and I gave him a nod of thanks.

“That could’ve gone better…” I muttered.

“A whole lot better,” Cole agreed. “This is gonna be much harder than a bunch of bobble-heads, guys.”

Jay walked towards the ruined doorway. “Yeah, well. Then it’s a good thing we’re in a museum.”

“Why’s that?” Misako wondered.

“‘Cause we’re all about to become history!”

The Stone Warrior crashed through the doorway again, growling at us and brandishing his swords.

“RUN!” Jay squealed.

We all followed his advice and sprinted across the large room, the giant Stone Warrior right on our tail. We scurried into another hallway, hoping that the small doorway would slow him down. It didn’t; he crashed right through it again, easily keeping up with us.

“The guy’s got a pair of sneakers on him,” Lloyd announced from behind me. “Pick up the pace! Go, go, go!”

I kicked it into overdrive, forcing myself to run faster as the Stone Warrior rampaged after us. Lloyd and I had to duck to avoid him swinging his long sword at us. Eventually, we made it to the main hall, and scurried up the staircases as we desperately tried to escape. No matter how fast we ran, the Stone Warrior easily kept up with us.

“Oh, man,” I heard Kai exclaim from the front of the group. “He’s pretty fast for a big guy!”

“It’s so unfair that they’re made of stone, _and_ really fast!” I loudly gumbled. Seriously, what was up with that?

We all made a beeline for the fossil exhibit ahead. Once everyone was inside, the guys quickly closed the doors behind us. Not a second after that, the Stone Warrior stuck his sword through the door from the other side. He peeked through the hole at us, growling in fury. He started trying to break down the doors, but seemed to have a little trouble. I gulped in fear again, but at least we seemed to be safe for the moment.

“Ugh. This thing is unstoppable!” Cole exclaimed in frustration.

“Indestructible, to be precise,” Zane corrected.

Kai pointed at the warrior. “That door ain’t gonna hold him forever!”

“Then let’s settle this like men,” Jay stated. “With Rock, Paper, Clamp. Loser has to face him, so the rest can escape.”

What? How was that fair? _There has to be a better way…_ I began to think hard.

Jay, Kai, Cole, and Zane all put their fists down together, just like they did this morning. I walked over to put my fist in, too, Lloyd beside me. However, as we tried to add our hands, Jay swatted us both away.

“Nuh-uh!” he told us. “Not you, chosen ones.”

Aww, that was really noble of him. Still, I felt like there could be a better way to defeat this guy. _Come on, Aurora! Think!_

Kai sighed. “On three,” he told the others.

As they began counting down, I kept trying to think, but my mind kept wandering. _I wonder if they'll all do paper again like they did earlier_ , I randomly wondered. After thinking that, I was finally struck with an idea, and I gasped. “Wait a minute!” My outburst made the four ninja stop, turning to me in confusion. I turned to Lloyd, hoping he would catch on. “Lloyd, paper beats rock,” I told him softly.

His eyes widened. Thankfully, he seemed to realize what I was talking about. “That’s it!” he exclaimed.

“What’s ‘it?’” Sensei asked us.

“If you guys can keep him busy, I think Aurora and I know how to stop him,” Lloyd told everyone.

The guys all exchanged looks. After a moment, Cole said, “I say we give the kids a shot.”

“You’re just saying that ‘cause you’re too afraid to face him,” Jay retorted.

Cole raised his eyebrows. “Do _you_ wanna face it?”

Jay looked back at the Stone Warrior, who was slowly but surely breaking down the doors. He turned back to us. “I say we give the kids a shot,” he agreed.

Lloyd nudged me, and when I looked at him, he pointed to an air vent across the room. I nodded, knowing what our next move was. The two of us hurried over to it. Lloyd pulled the vent cover off, and then stood aside, dramatically bowing and gesturing for me to go first. I giggled at the silly gesture, crawling inside the vent with Lloyd right behind me.

“Be careful, Lloyd,” I heard Misako tell her son before we left. “And good luck.”

Lloyd turned around to address her. “Thanks, mom,” he said before turning back around and following me into the ventilation shaft. I smiled to myself when he called her “mom.” He was finally accepting her.

I knew we had no time to lose. If Lloyd and I were still small, then we would be having an easier time crawling through the cramped vents, but there was nothing we could do about that. As I led Lloyd through the vents, I hoped that I was going the right way, and that we could get to where we needed to be in time.

Thankfully, I soon found what I was looking for. A vent cover led out into a familiar room, and I wasted no time in kicking it open. I hurried out of the vent, thankful that the crawling was over. The sight of the giant gaping sinkhole from earlier was there to greet me, and I hoped against hope that this plan would work.

Lloyd stood up behind me. “Just to be sure, we _are_ thinking of the same plan, right?”

I chuckled, turning to nod at him. “You should know by now: we always seem to know what the other’s thinking.” I gestured to the sinkhole. “Now, come on. We’re gonna need a giant piece of paper, and a whole lot of paint.”

The two of us scurried out of the room, making sure there were no lurking Stone Warriors outside before venturing out. We searched as fast as we could, and we were surprisingly able to grab everything we needed in time. I found cans of paint in a storage closet, and Lloyd found a blank piece of poster paper that looked like it would be used to advertise an exhibit. Wasting no time, we both hurried back to the room with the giant hole and got to work. Lloyd and I quickly cleared away all the red tape surrounding the dark abyss, and then we unrolled the giant piece of paper onto the floor. In an amazing display of speed-painting and artistry, we made the paper look just like a section of the tiled floor. Once we were satisfied, we worked together to position the paper over the giant sinkhole. It covered it completely, making it appear as though the hole had never existed in the first place.

“Wow,” I said once we had finished. “I can hardly believe we had enough time to do that.”

Lloyd grinned, nudging me. “You should know by now: we make a great team,” he stated, mimicking my words from earlier.

I laughed, agreeing with him wholeheartedly. Before I could say anything else, I heard distant growling noises, and the sound of rapid footsteps. “He’s coming!” I announced.

We both turned toward the doorway just in time to see Misako run into view. “Over here!” Lloyd shouted at her as the two of us waved our arms frantically.

She smiled in relief when she saw us. “Lloyd! Aurora!” She ran toward us as fast as she could, but the Stone Warrior was right on her tail, angrily stomping into the room after her.

_Here goes nothing,_ I thought. “Come and get us, blockhead!” I taunted the warrior.

Misako hid behind Lloyd as the Stone Warrior growled in fury.

“Hey, loser!” Lloyd shouted at it. “Paper beats rock!”

The Stone Warrior charged straight for us. Lloyd grabbed his mother, diving out of the way with her. I did the same, diving in the other direction, just missing the warrior’s swing of his sword. The Stone Warrior stumbled onto the paper, turning back to us and growling again. Before he could move again, the paper gave way beneath him, revealing the sinkhole. He made noises of panic as he fell through the floor and back down into the deep, dark, bottomless hole, his scream echoing all the way.

I stood up, letting out a breath I didn’t know I was holding. I walked over to the side of the sinkhole, rejoining Lloyd and his mother. “And stay down,” I muttered down into the dark abyss. Lloyd and I exchanged a grin, high-fiving at a job well done. _I am SO glad that worked!_

“Of course,” Misako said. “The bottomless pit.” She turned to Lloyd, smiling warmly at him and leaning in for a hug. “I’m so proud of you. I feel like the balance has brought us together.”

Lloyd pulled off his mask, revealing his smiling face. He held onto Misako as she held onto him, a mother and son reunited at last. Though I was happy for them both, I couldn’t help but feel a little envious. Would I ever get to meet my parents some day? Would I at least find out who they were?

Something told me that I would. One day.

Sensei Wu and the rest of the ninja walked into the room, all thankfully unharmed. “Stay with us,” Sensei told Misako. “Help us fight the good fight.”

“If that’s okay with my son,” Misako replied, looking to Lloyd.

The Green Ninja smiled. “Hey, the more, the merrier.”

Lloyd and his mother embraced again, and I couldn’t help but smile at them. No matter what I wished for myself, for now I would settle for just being happy for Lloyd.


	8. Episode 20: Sweets and Secrets

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When all else fails...seek help.
> 
> Or: asking big sister Nya for advice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh look, another early wild update! I keep getting too excited to post things, so I"m gonna go ahead and post this filler chapter I came up with before Wednesday's update. Then, after that, I really will be going back to only posting on Wednesday for the rest of this book. Which reminds me: we're now past the halfway point! Woo-hoo!
> 
> I'll admit, the first part of this chapter, I'm not exactly sure what my intention was---it's mainly just a random idea. The second part, though, is something I hope you all enjoy reading! :D  
> \--------------------

There are some things we just have to keep to ourselves, no matter the consequences.

  
  
The location of a hidden source of power. A secret that could ruin a friendship, if anyone knew. A weapon too powerful for anyone to use. Your super-secret stash of candy and sweets that was only for  _ you _ and you alone.

Lloyd and I may have abruptly grown older, but our intense love for candy and sweet things was far from dying out; it probably never would. We were ten-year-olds trapped in teenage bodies, so it really wasn’t all that surprising that the two of us came up with the brilliant idea to create a secret stash of candy. Not only was it a super fun idea, but we also had our reasons for it.

Even before we’d started training to become ninja, the two of us had bought and saved candy whenever and wherever we could in our free time. It wasn’t very long before we’d accumulated a considerable stockpile of candy and sweets, and he and I were pretty proud of it. Lloyd certainly was happy that we had a supply of candy we could take from whenever we wanted (I may or may not have relentlessly teased him about not having to raid villages for candy anymore).

At first, we’d simply piled the candy in the pantry in the Bounty’s kitchen. We quickly learned that this had been a mistake. We would sometimes seek out our candy supply, only to find less of it there than the day before. We soon found out that everyone else was helping themselves to it, mistaking it for a community candy stash. Lloyd and I then knew that we had to move our candy.

Yes, I know it seems selfish that we wanted the candy all to ourselves. But Lloyd and I had only a few things that were actually  _ ours _ instead of everyone’s. Our goldmine stash of candy was something that only the two of us knew about, and that made it special to us. Plus, in tough times, it kept us going.

So, we scooped all the candy into a basket and moved it to a safe spot underneath my bed in my room. The boys were mainly the ones eating all our candy, so we figured that if we put them in there, they wouldn’t be as tempted to take from our stash.

The idea worked...for a little while. Somehow, Jay discovered our candy’s hiding spot. Like us, he had a sweet tooth, and so had grown desperate enough to actually seek out where we’d hidden our candy. It wasn’t long before Kai and Cole got wind of where our candy was as well, and so the three of them began helping themselves to it again (Zane wasn’t as interested in candy as they were, so we never had to worry about him). They’d sneak into my room whenever I wasn’t in there and take what they wanted, leaving me and Lloyd baffled. They never exchanged words with us about it, but we knew it was them. Why couldn’t they just go buy some of their own? Also, those three boys sneaking into my room was an invasion of privacy I desperately wanted to call them out on.

Instead of making a big fuss about it, we decided to play their game. Together, Lloyd and I combed every nook and cranny of the Destiny’s Bounty, searching for the best place to hide our candy stash. We figured that, since it used to be a pirate ship, there was bound to be some sort of hidden compartment somewhere.

We weren’t disappointed. In the kitchen, there was a hidden button behind a potted plant, one that opened up a secret compartment in the wall. We didn’t find anything inside upon discovering it, but it was the perfect little place to hide our candy. The kitchen, after all, was the most obvious spot, and so Jay, Kai, and Cole would not be inclined to look there for our candy they craved.

It was our best idea yet---it worked like a charm. Lloyd and I would contently munch on lollipops while the other ninja gave us subtle looks of jealousy and frustration. None of them could figure out where we’d moved our candy stash to, and I knew that it was driving them crazy.

One day, Cole approached us---not looking for candy, but looking for help.

“I need to hide my stash of cake,” he told us, sounding desperate. “Ever since you two moved your candy stash, the others have been taking from my personal cake stash more often! Can I please,  _ please  _ hide my cake with your candy?”

It had taken all I had not to burst out laughing in front of him.

Lloyd and I debated with each other for a little while, deciding whether or not to grant Cole’s request. We soon informed him that we would be okay with it, as long as he let us have a little cake every once in a while and kept our secret location a secret.

He didn’t tell the others about it, keeping his word. And so, Kai and Jay were both silently baffled as they saw me, Lloyd, and Cole eating cake and candy every so often, and had no idea where we were keeping it all. And that was just the way I liked it.

Maybe someday we would have mercy on them. But not until we drove them crazy.

. . .

So, remember how I just said that there are some things we needed to keep to ourselves?

One day, I decided that I couldn’t take it anymore. These weird feelings and emotions that I kept experiencing made me worried that there was something very wrong with me, and so I finally decided to seek advice. That’s how I found myself outside Nya’s room, knocking on the door. I figured that if anybody could help me, it would be her.

Nya pulled the door open a few seconds after I knocked. “Aurora,” she greeted, smiling at me. “What’s up?”

I gave her a sheepish smile. “Can I...talk to you?”

She made a slightly confused face at the vague request, but nodded. “Sure.” She stepped aside. “Come on in.”

I muttered a brief thanks and stepped into her room. Nya closed the door behind me and faced me. I stood awkwardly in the middle of the room, suddenly feeling shy for some reason.

“So, what’s wrong?” Nya asked me curiously. “Need advice?”

“Something like that…” After a pause, I took a deep breath, trying to figure out how to word what I was feeling into a way she would understand. “Um… You know that Lloyd and I have been good friends for a while now, right?”

She nodded, still a little confused. “Yeah…?”

“We do almost everything together,” I continued, “and we’re close. He and I hug each other often, sometimes we put our arms around each other’s shoulders, and we even grab each other by the hand sometimes so we can drag them off somewhere.” I was rambling at this point, and I tried to get back on course. “We never really thought anything of it; it’s always just been friendly and nonchalant between us. Our friendship has always been full of close moments. But now…”

“Now what?” Nya urged when I went silent.

I sighed, deciding to just let it all pour out. “Now, it feels...different. Whenever I hug him, I start blushing, Nya. Blushing! I’ve  _ never _ done that when we hugged before! Heck, even if he just grabs my arm---even when he’s not touching me at all! Even if I’m just in close quarters with him, I get this really strange feeling! I get all nervous and...and…”

“Flustered?” Nya guessed when I couldn’t come up with a word.

I pointed at her in realization. “Exactly!” My head fell into my hand, and I groaned in frustration. “Oh Nya, is something wrong with me? I’ve tried to make sense of this so many times. I thought it was just a temporary thing that would pass, but the feelings won’t go away! And it only happens when I’m around Lloyd. Why just Lloyd? What does this mean?” I gave Nya a slightly pleading look. “Do you know what’s wrong with me?”

Nya was quiet for a moment, looking surprised. After a few silent moments, I was about to speak again when she started...giggling? She was giggling, much to my surprise, trying to cover her mouth to stop it.

Now I was the one who was confused. What was going on? “Why...are you laughing at me?” I slowly asked, not sure whether I should be offended or just bewildered.

She made herself stop giggling, but still wore an amused smile on her face. “I’m sorry, Aurora,” she apologized, regaining her composure. “But have you seriously not figured it out?”

“F-Figured  _ what _ out?” I asked her, growing more confused and just a little frustrated.

Nya remained smiling, walking over and placing a hand on my shoulder. “Oh, Aurora. There’s nothing wrong with you! I know exactly what’s going on.” She paused for dramatic effect, then said, “You like Lloyd!”

I totally didn’t get it. “Uh...of course I like him. He’s my best friend,” I told her.

“No!” Nya exclaimed, gently shaking me. “You  _ like _ him, Aurora!”

She put just enough emphasis on that word to make me finally realize what she was saying. Once I understood, the realization hit me like a ton of bricks, and my eyes widened as my breathing seemed to stop momentarily.  _ I… I like him?! _ This was what all the weird feelings were about? This was why every time I was around him I would get all giddy and nervous inside? It was because I  _ liked _ him? As something more than a best friend?

My first instinct was to deny it. “What? No. No.” I shook my head, stepping away. “That can’t be it! Lloyd and I aren’t you and Jay! We don’t act all lovey-dovey when we’re around each other! We’d never…” Even as I said it, I started to not believe in it. Lloyd and I had always found Jay’s and Nya’s displays of affection for each other gross, even repulsive. But that had been when we were still little kids. Now…I realized that it didn’t bother me anymore. If anything, I think I found it...cute?  _ What? _

“Okay, first of all, we’re not  _ that _ lovey-dovey,” Nya stated, putting her hands on her hips. “And second, we weren’t always that way! Before we got together, we… Actually, we acted just like you’re acting now.”

“You...did?” I was still surprised at myself. The more Nya explained it to me, the more it started to make sense. The blushing, the nerves, how much I loved it when Lloyd hugged me, when I realized a while ago that I actually found him handsome…

However, I was still a little skeptical. This was all a completely new experience for me, so I had no idea what to think or feel or make of it. I wanted to believe this was all true (it was way better than finding out that I was sick or something), but I wasn’t entirely convinced yet.

“Are you sure, Nya?” I asked her, hoping she could clear away my doubts.

She smiled at me. “Well, do you think Lloyd’s cute?”

The sudden question made me blush. “Uh, um, I…” I smiled shyly. “Y-Yes…”

“Does he make you laugh?” she asked next.

I nodded. “Yeah. A lot.”

“Do you like being around him?”

“Yeah, I do.”

“Would you do anything for him?”

The serious question caught me off guard.  _ Would I? _ I asked myself. I thought about all Lloyd and I had been through together. From the moment we met, we’d formed a bond and survived through a lot of dangerous and precarious situations. Any other kid might’ve turned away and left at the first sign of trouble, but for some great reason, I had stuck by him loyally, even when times were tough.  _ Especially _ when times were tough. Lloyd Garmadon was the best friend I’d ever had, and I… I… 

Holy crap. I was in love with him.

“Yes,” I told Nya unwaveringly. “Yes, I would.”

Nya’s smile turned into a wide grin. “Well, there you go! You like him!”

“I… I do,” I gasped as I began to accept it. “Wow…”

While I was shocked, Nya started squealing in delight. “This is so romantic! Two best friends falling in love with each other. Oooh, it’s like something out of a romance novel!” She beamed at me. “You two would be so cute together!”

A smile spread over my face at the thought.  _ We  _ would  _ be cute together, wouldn’t we? _ I thought, my heart fluttering a little. Then, I thought of something else that made me frown. “Wait, Nya. Do you think he feels the same way?” I hadn’t even considered that until now.

Nya shrugged. “Honestly, I’m not sure at the moment. But there’s one way to find out.”

“What?” I inquired.

“You can tell him how you feel,” she stated, as if it were the simplest thing in the world.

I gawked at the suggestion. “Say what?! No, Nya, I can’t do that!” I began to rant frantically, pacing back and forth as I talked. “Yeah, it’s definitely the fastest way to know for sure, but what if it goes wrong? What if I tell him how I feel, but he doesn’t feel the same way? Our friendship would be ruined! Things would be totally awkward from then on because he would always remember how I truly feel about him, and he would feel guilty because he doesn’t feel the same way, or he’d distance himself in the hope that I’d stop feeling this way! That CAN’T happen, Nya---not now! How are he and I gonna defeat his father if we have a hard time being around each other? Or even worse: I’d tell him how I feel, and then he’d laugh at me! He might think I’m kidding!” I threw my hands up into the air. “And then the world would END!”

Nya folded her arms across her chest, looking unamused. “Are you done?”

Calming myself, I took a long, deep breath, making myself stand still and stop pacing. “...Yes.”

“You  _ do _ realize that’s a worse-case scenario, right?” she asked me.

I sighed. “Well… Yeah, I guess you’re right.” Why was I overreacting this much? Geez, I was starting to act like Jay. “But still, I don’t think I’m brave enough for that, Nya…”

“That’s alright,” she assured me. “You don’t have to take the direct approach. It was just a suggestion.” She then thought for a moment before offering more advice. “Well, the only other thing you can do is just wait for a sign. See if Lloyd acts any differently around you, and try to look for any indications on how he feels about you. Then, once you think you’re sure he feels the same way, you can admit your feelings to him.”

I hummed in thought. It was a good plan; this way, if Lloyd ended up not having feelings for me, I could figure out ahead of time instead of embarrassing myself. It would take time, though...and it would be difficult. “But how do I know for sure?” I asked her. “Like I said before, we’ve always been close. How do I know that his actions are because he likes me, and not just the acts of affection we’ve always had between us?”

Nya shrugged again. “I don’t think you could ever really be one-hundred percent sure, Aurora,” she told me, making me deflate a little. “But hey, you know Lloyd better than any of us. If anyone can figure out how he feels, it’s you.” She smiled at me. “And I’ll be here to help, too! You can count on me to help you get to the bottom of this.”

Her words filled me with hope. She was right; I could definitely do this. It would be difficult, and probably a long wait, but something told me that it would all pay off in the end. At least I finally knew what I was feeling, and could properly deal with it. I walked over to Nya and hugged her gratefully. “Thank you, Nya,” I said, smiling. “Thank you for helping me clear this up.” She was honestly like the big sister I’d never had, and I would be forever grateful that I got to know her.

“Hey, what are friends for?” Nya told me as we hugged each other. After we pulled away, she seemed to remember something. “Oh, yeah! While I have you here, can I ask something?”

I nodded at her. “Of course! Anything.”

She gave me a smirk. “Where are you, Lloyd, and Cole hiding your sweets?”

My eyes widened at the question. “Sorry, Nya. That’s classified information,” I told her, smiling knowingly.

“Come on, Aurora,” she urged me. “Please? I’m just curious.”

“No, you’re not,” I stated, beginning to head for the door. “You’re just asking because Jay wants you to.”

“No he doesn’t!” she insisted.

“He put you up to this! I know he did!” I could hear it in the way she asked me.

“Come on, Aurora! Inquiring minds want to know!”

“You mean Jay and Kai want to know.”

“I want to know, too! Can’t you just tell me?”

“Nope.”

“I just helped you and gave you advice! Can’t you be nice and tell me what I wanna know?”

“I’ll buy you new shurikens instead!”

“Aurora!”

“Sorry, Nya! I’ve got a promise to keep!”


	9. Episode 21: The Day Ninjago Stood Still

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The giant Stone Warrior had friends?! Greaaaaat...
> 
> And where did the Serpentine and Garmadon disappear off to?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another chapter for my amazing fans! Honestly, guys and girls, knowing that so many of you like my writing makes me so happy every time I read your wonderful comments! You guys are what keep me writing, so thank you for that!
> 
> It's time to begin the back half of the season---where things start to get serious. I'm so excited!  
> \---------------------

“Don’t rely on your eyes. Use your ears,” the voice of Cole said.

Not that I could use my eyes, even if I wanted to. Once again, Lloyd and I stood back-to-back surrounded by the others, except this time we were blindfolded. Today’s lesson was “Your eyes can deceive you, don’t trust them,” and so we were being trained on how to fight without our sense of sight. I was excited for this one; it would be like in those movies where the hero doesn’t use their eyes while they’re fighting and still kick butt.

I heard the metallic sounds of weapons being drawn out. I pushed everything else out of my mind and focused, paying attention to every little noise my ears heard. There was a slight sound of feet creeping towards us, so I knew that the ninja were preparing to attack us. Based on the noises in front of me, I was pretty sure that Jay and Zane were both in front of me. Except for the soft noises the ninjas’ weapons made, it was quiet in the dojo. That is, until the curtain of beads rustled and Dareth’s voice rang across the room.

“Uh, guys, I’m teaching a class later, so I’d appreciate a clean dojo,” he told us.

I ignored him, instead remaining focused on detecting the movements around me. Suddenly, there was a whoosh of air, and I acted on instinct. I leapt into the air, somehow feeling the sharp weapons narrowly missing me and swinging through the empty air below me instead. As I fell, I tried to pinpoint where the metallic noises of the weapons originated, and aimed my foot. It came into contact with a hand before I landed, and I kicked it, hearing the satisfying sound of Kai’s katana being knocked from his hands. I heard two surprised grunts and clangs of weapons from somewhere behind me, taking that to mean Lloyd had attacked two of the others.

I felt another slight rush of air, and dodged a fist just in time---Kai’s fist, I’d guess. Before he could move again, I grabbed his arm and kicked him hard in the chest. I heard him land on his rear, a surprised “Oof” meeting my ears as he landed. Then, I felt another weapon swinging behind me, but it was cut short, as if someone had caught it. There was a lot of punching and kicking noises in the background as I fought whoever attacked me, trying my best to not let any of the boys land a single hit.

At one point, someone gently grabbed both of my arms. Somehow, I knew that it was Lloyd, and didn’t try to yank them away. Just when I began to wonder what he was up to, I felt him suddenly swing me into the air, spinning me around. I caught on quickly, and stuck my foot out to deliver a swift kick to our opponents. My foot satisfyingly made contact with one head, then another, then a third, and finally a fourth. As Lloyd set me down and let go, I had to let out a brief snicker of triumph.

A second after I’d landed, I heard a familiar loud stomping noise that meant that Cole was charging at me. I leapt out of the way, now grinning at how much fun I was having. I let my ears lead me the whole time, fighting off the guys and dodging their weapons, somehow avoiding running into Lloyd accidentally. It was a deadly, quick dance as the guys all fought to catch me and Lloyd off guard.

I heard Jay shout, followed by a loud metallic crash. This was immediately followed by the sound of Dareth yelling, “No, no, no, no, no, no!” Looks like we were wrecking his dojo after all. I sent him a silent apology as I dodged sharp weapons. Feeling someone approaching me, my foot shot out, connecting with someone’s chest. I heard Jay scream again as he supposedly went flying, and I also thought I heard the sound of a window being opened and closed.

There was an impasse, and I stood still, regaining my breath and anxiously waiting for the ninja to make any more moves. I felt a rush of heat next to me, like fire igniting. I thought it was Kai at first, but then realized that it had to be Lloyd. He was using his elemental fire. I was about to do the same, when I heard Dareth panic again and repeatedly shout “No!” The fire was probably singeing the poor man’s floors. For his sake, I refrained from using any elemental powers; I knew I shouldn’t rely on them all the time, anyway.

Somewhere, I could’ve sworn I heard Jay shout, “Hey, open the window! Let me in!”

Our intense fighting continued on for a while longer, but was abruptly cut short when the ground started shaking violently. All of us immediately stopped what we were doing, and I tugged off my blindfold, seeing Lloyd doing the same.

“What was that?” Kai wondered as we all looked around.

“Some form of groundquake,” Zane said. “But I am not sure what’s causing it…”

Dareth scurried across the room and turned on the TV, quickly changing it to the news. At some point, Sensei and Misako joined us in the dojo, crowding around the screen with us.

“ _NGTV reporter Gayle Gossip on the scene of what appears to be an earthquake rocking the city of Ninjago,_ ” the reporter, Gayle, announced to the camera. She stood in the park square, which wasn’t far from here. “ _But it’s an earthquake like no other, as scientists have yet to pinpoint the cause. And more frightening still, the aftershocks are getting stronger._ ”

I frowned. “Well, that’s not good…”

“What do you think this could be?” Cole asked as the dojo shook around us again.

“Wouldn’t be surprised if it was Garmadon,” Kai stated. “We haven’t seen him for a while.”

Misako was already shaking her head. “He would never,” she insisted. “Lloyd’s father is evil, but he would never do anything to put his son in harm’s way.”

“Misako is right,” Sensei agreed. “He only tried to thwart his training. This is something else.”

“But _what_ is it?” Jay asked.

I began to wonder. Earthquakes didn’t happen here often, if at all. Whatever was causing this, it meant some serious trouble.

Zane whistled, calling his falcon. The loyal robot bird landed gracefully on his arm, and Zane walked him over to the open window. “My friend, be my eyes and look for danger in the streets from above.”

The falcon flew out the window, off to find out what was going on.

Zane’s eyes glowed blue as he looked through his falcon friend’s eyes. He soon reported that the earthquakes were causing the ground to split open everywhere, and that the people were in danger. We all immediately leapt into action, taking to the streets and saving the citizens of Ninjago City from the destruction. Thanks to the falcon, we knew where to go to help those in need.

At one point as we ran down a crumbling street, I heard a woman’s screams. My head whipped in that direction, horrified to see a section of the road caving in. The woman was sinking with it, screaming, “Help! Help me!”

“Guys, look!” I exclaimed, grabbing their attention as I ran off toward the danger. The others followed close behind me. “Never fear, the ninja are here!” I cheered as the woman came into sight. Knowing that the boys would know what to do, I leapt right off the edge of the sunken street, diving headfirst into the pit. “Go!”

Lloyd was right behind me, leaping in immediately after I did. “Go!” he echoed.

Zane was next. “Go!”

Then Kai. “Go!”

And finally, Jay. “Go!”

They all grabbed each other’s legs in that order, forming a long human ladder all the way down into the sunken pit. Cole remained at the top, holding everyone steady and making sure we didn’t fall in. I stretched my arms down as far as they would go, reaching for the woman in distress. “Take my hand!” I encouraged her. “You can do it!”

She jumped repeatedly, trying to grab my hand with her own, but we were still a few inches short.

“I can’t reach her!” I yelled over my shoulder.

“A few more inches, guys!” Lloyd shouted to the others from behind me.

Thankfully, the boys were able to lower me down a little more, just enough so that the woman could finally reach me. She jumped one last time, and I grabbed onto her hands. “Gotcha!” I exclaimed in triumph, wincing a little at the death grip she was crushing my hands with.

The ground that Cole was standing on began to shake, and he leapt away to more solid ground just as it collapsed beneath him. He still held onto us the entire time, but our human ladder swayed as he jumped, making us all collectively say “Whoa!” 

The woman was already keeping a death grip on me, but I still gripped her just as tightly, determined to not let go. “I’ve got you. Don’t worry,” I assured her. She seemed to relax a little after hearing that.

I heard Cole loudly grunting with the effort of holding all our weight. “Could have thought this plan through a little more,” he grumbled.

Cole was strong, I knew. He could definitely do this, and I silently cheered him on.

The woman’s dog barked, distressed at seeing its owner in danger. Slowly but surely, Cole was able to pull us all up out of the pit and back to safety. As soon as the woman was completely out of danger, I let go of her hands, my arm muscles already aching at the extra effort they’d had to put in. Knowing that now was not the time to rest, I flipped onto my feet, immediately offering the woman my hand again to help her stand.

She accepted it gratefully. “Oh, thank you!” she exclaimed to me as I hauled her to her feet.

I grinned at her. “No trouble at all!”

“Speak for yourself,” Cole grumbled, still sounding exhausted. “I did all the work!” The woman’s dog jumped on him, knocking him over before rushing to the waiting arms of its owner.

“Oh, come on, Cole. It was a good plan,” I informed him, chuckling. I walked over and offered him a hand to help him up. “I’m the lightest of us, so I was down at the bottom, and you’re the strongest, so you were at the top pulling us all up.”

Cole grabbed my hand, still grumbling as I pulled him up. “Tell that to my sore arms…”

Suddenly, another earthquake shook the ground beneath us. I steadied myself, wondering where the heck these tremors were all coming from.

“These things just keep coming with no warning!” Kai exclaimed.

Just then, Sensei Wu and Misako caught up with us. Misako was carrying her research with her. “That’s it,” she stated. “A warning.” She unraveled the scroll she was holding, frowning worriedly as she set it down for us to see. “The scrolls said the earthquakes would be a warning. A warning for something far worse to come.”

Jay scoffed. “Far worse? What could be far worse?!”

Cole spoke up. “Misako, the indestructible Stone Warrior we fought---where did you find him?”

“He was buried under the city,” she informed us.

I gulped audibly. “Uh oh…”

Jay gasped loudly. “You don’t think there’s more, do you?!” he exclaimed, starting to panic.

“Be on guard, ninja,” Sensei instructed us. “We must be ready for whatever comes our way.”

. . .

No matter how much we all helped or tried to help, the entire city remained in chaos. People scurried everywhere as the ground shook violently, panicking and screaming their heads off. Cars were zigzagging all over the road, unbalanced by the shaking and desperately trying to avoid the cracks still forming in the streets. The boys and I had formed a protective circle in the middle of the city as Zane checked in with the falcon for any sign of what I hoped we wouldn’t find.

Zane eventually lowered his hand, and his eyes stopped glowing. “Sensei, it’s as we feared,” he announced. “Another Stone Samurai Warrior is loose on the streets.”

Before I could utter any reaction to that grim news, the concrete in the middle of our circle crumbled, and a Stone Warrior burst from the ground without any warning. We all cried out in shock, only to see another fist burst through the road nearby. Then another. Then another. Soon, they appeared everywhere, from alleyways and other streets, climbing out of some dark pit that must’ve been somewhere far beneath the surface.

It was an army.

“No, no, no!” Jay shouted in dismay.

“Crap,” I muttered, wondering how we were going to get out of this one. I almost missed the giant Stone Warrior we’d just fought; I’d rather fight him again than an army of smaller ones.

“We’re under attack!” Sensei exclaimed.

The Stone Warriors swarmed everywhere, quickly taking over the entire city and causing mayhem. I thought that the citizens had been panicking before, but this took the cake. All of us immediately took action, splitting up to help in whatever ways we could. Lloyd got the bright idea of going to retrieve the Ninja Tank, so he, Sensei, Misako, and I scurried over to Nya’s shop to pick it up. We quickly found it and regrouped with the ninja, running over any Stone Warriors that got in our way.

Sensei Wu and Misako hopped out once we found the ninja, who had just saved a reporter and Dareth from other Stone Warriors. “We have to protect the people,” Sensei stated. “Gather as many as you can and get them to our evacuation point.”

Nya appeared on the tank’s intercom. “ _We’ve got problems with that evacuation point, guys,_ ” she told us. “ _I can’t find a safe place to land!_ ”

An idea popped into my head, and I gasped, wondering why I didn’t think of it sooner. I leapt out of my seat, standing on top of the Ninja Tank. Looking upward, I whistled a series of long notes as loud as I possibly could into the sky. I then crossed my fingers, waiting in anticipation. _I really hope that worked…_

“What are you doing?” Lloyd asked me, confused.

I smirked down at him. “You’ll see.”

The reporter--Gayle--ran over to Sensei. “The NGTV building has a helipad on the roof,” I heard her tell him.

“Yes. Higher ground,” Sensei said. “Lloyd, tell Nya to head there!”

The other ninja formed a protective line in front of us. Gayle spoke into a camera that Dareth was holding, telling the citizens that were watching to head to the predetermined building. Sensei said a few things to Misako, but I couldn’t hear what he said.

Suddenly, another wave of Stone Warriors appeared, both in front of us and behind us. They charged straight for us, brandishing their swords and shouting their battle cries. I anxiously watched the sky. _Where are you?_

Lloyd turned in his seat, spotting the warriors approaching from behind. “Uh oh. There are more of them.”

I held up a hand. “Any minute now…”

That was when the Ultra-Dragon swooped in, landing right on top of the Stone Warriors, sending them all flying onto their faces. I fist-pumped, cheering loudly. “Yes! My dragon call actually worked!”

“Yeah!” Lloyd cheered, also elated to see our dragon. “Ha ha!”

“Perfect timing, bud!” I shouted at the dragon. “You’re the best!”

He replied with an enthusiastic roar before flying over our heads and landing in front of us. He roared loudly at the approaching Stone Warriors, daring them to attack him.

Sensei turned around to face us. “Lloyd, Aurora, did you practice your elemental quakes?” he inquired.

“Who needs practice when you’re a natural?” Lloyd replied confidently. “Right, Aurora?”

I shrugged modestly. “Well, I wouldn’t call us ‘naturals…’”

Lloyd leapt out of his seat just as I front-flipped off of the top of the Ninja Tank. The two of us raised our fists as the ground rushed to meet us, calling forth our power. We landed right beside each other, our fists striking the concrete at the same time. The ground shook and split open, a crack forming a line over to in front of where the Ultra-Dragon was. The stone rose from the ground, creating a protective barrier that would at least slow the warriors down.

“...But we _are_ amazingly good,” I finished in a bragging tone.

Lloyd gave me an enthusiastic high-five. “See? We’re the best!”

I laughed at our playful boasting. The others all ran to the Ninja Tank, ready to go. We ran over to where our dragon was, and I gave each of his heads a quick pat.

“Thanks, boy,” Lloyd said to him. “Now let’s see if you can help us find a way out of here.”

While the dragon approached the barrier we’d created, Lloyd and I backflipped back onto the top of the Ninja Tank. Everyone else had climbed inside. The dragon roared, then breathed out a cloud of ice onto the ground we’d pulled up, forming a cool ice ramp and freezing any straggling Stone Warriors. He flapped his wings, flying up into the air and leaving the way clear for us. The tank lurched forward, speeding onto the ice ramp and into the air.

I turned around and waved at the dragon. “Thanks, bud! Now save yourself!”

The dragon roared in reply, then did as he was told and flew away. He looked reluctant to leave, but knew he had to anyway.

“Be safe!” I yelled after him.

Lloyd fake pouted as we drove away. “You really do like that dragon better than me…”

“Oh, stop,” I retorted, playfully shoving him. He laughed and shoved me back, careful not to knock me off the speeding tank.

We quickly arrived at the NGTV building, where a crowd of people were frantically scurrying inside. The Ninja Tank screeched to a halt, and everyone hopped out of it, running inside after them.

“Barricade the doors!” Cole shouted.

Me and the boys all grabbed whatever was lying around--mainly the biggest stuff--and moved it in front of the doors as fast as we could. I hoped that it would be enough to hold for a while.

Zane put one last piece of furniture on the pile. “Now we head to the stairwell.”

I helped usher all of the people onto the stairs, urging them to hurry. Once they were all on their way, Sensei and Misako brought up the rear.

“Stairs?” Dareth echoed. “It’s twenty floors! Let’s just take the elevator, guys.”

I facepalmed.

“It’s unwise to take the elevator during an emergency, Dareth,” Zane informed him.

Dareth pressed the “up” button. “Well, I think I’ll take my chances.”

The elevator doors slid open, only to reveal a growling Stone Warrior already inside. Dareth shrieked, but the Stone Warrior stepped in a bucket full of water, being thrown off balance and falling back inside the elevator. Dareth quickly pressed the “down” button, and the doors slid closed again.

“Stairs it is,” he said, rushing after us as we began to scurry up the stairs ourselves. “Let’s get climbing, people!”

I quickly caught up with Lloyd, running up the long flights of spiraling stairs beside him. It was a good thing that I’d built up stamina during all my training, because I definitely needed it now. I ignored my tired body and pushed myself, determined to make it to the top. Once we reached the top of the stairs, we both stopped, making sure the stragglers behind us all made it up safely. Jay and Cole soon joined us, and eventually Zane and Kai made it too, bringing up the rear.

“We must buy time for our getaway,” Zane said, pointing out the Stone Warriors slowly ascending the stairs.

With a cry of “Ninja, go!” the six of us all spun into our colorful tornadoes of Spinjitzu. We rode the railing down toward the warriors, showering them with sparks. Cole stopped at the front of the line, punching the leader in the face and knocking them all down like dominoes. Kai and Zane then charged into them with their Spinjitzu, sending them all flying over the railing and falling down the stairwell. The Stone Warriors may be indestructible, but they were much more manageable than the giant one we’d first fought.

After using my Spinjitzu to dispatch a group of warriors, I made my way back up to the top of the stairs. I met Lloyd and Jay up there, facing another group of Stone Warriors that had almost reached the top.

Lloyd turned to me when I stopped next to him. “Light ‘em up, Rose!” he exclaimed.

I smirked, summoning my elemental light. An orb of bright yellow light formed between my palms, then expanded to surround my entire body. Lloyd and Jay moved behind me, shielding their eyes. “Let there be light!” I shouted, letting the orb explode around me in a blinding shower of light. Once my power subsided, I was satisfied to see the Stone Warriors all clutching their eyes, having been temporarily blinded. Lloyd immediately took advantage of it, sliding down the stairs and kicking them all against the railing. Jay, Lloyd, and I all ran over to them, lifted them up, and pushed them over the railing, sending them falling back down to the first floor screaming.

“Ha!” Lloyd exclaimed, exchanging another high-five with me. “Not so tough!”

The Stone Warriors all crashed to the ground, only to immediately get back up again, completely unharmed.

“Whoa,” Lloyd said, immediately regretting his statement. “So tough…”

The others quickly regrouped with us. “Let’s hope we bought enough time,” Zane said.

The six of us ran outside onto the roof where everyone else was. We emerged just in time to see the Destiny’s Bounty coming in for a landing, and everyone started cheering and scrambling towards the helipad. The ninja and I ushered everyone aboard.

“Hurry, they’re coming!” Lloyd exclaimed.

Misako then gasped in horror. “My research!” she cried out, looking distraught. Whirling around, she began running back toward the stairs.

Lloyd grabbed her by the shoulders, stopping her. “No, Mom! It’s too dangerous to go back!”

“It’s too important to leave behind,” Misako replied, having made up her mind. She smiled, kissed his forehead, then scurried back inside.

Lloyd reached after her, but let her go, looking upset. I placed a hand on his shoulder. “Don’t worry, Lloyd. Your mom’s got this; you’ve just gotta trust her,” I assured him. Something told me that Misako was very capable of taking care of herself.

Lloyd still looked unsure, but nodded, following me to the Bounty. The two of us leapt aboard with everyone else, helping to usher the people below deck.

Not too long afterward, a hoard of Stone Warriors burst through the stairwell door, swarming onto the roof.

“They just keep coming,” Lloyd groaned as we peered down at them over the railing.

“It’s the Serpentine all over again,” I stated, “but worse.”

We finally got everyone below the ship’s deck, but the Stone Warriors had begun attacking the ship, damaging the hull and the engines with their weapons.

“ _We have everyone?_ ” Nya asked over the PA system. “ _We’ve gotta get out of here. Our only remaining booster won’t last much longer._ ”

“We have to wait for my mom,” Lloyd stated.

I watched the rooftop for any sign of her. Where was she?

Suddenly, Sensei Wu sprinted over to the edge of the ship and jumped off, attacking the Stone Warriors below and scurrying back into the building.

“Sensei!!” Lloyd and I shouted as the ship took off, leaving Sensei Wu on the roof.

He was going back for Misako. Nya steered the ship lower, looking for their whereabouts and ready to help them make a quick getaway once we found them. I couldn’t help but worry for them, but somehow I knew that they’d be okay. Zane used his falcon to find them, and eventually spotted them fighting Stone Warriors near an open window. Nya moved the Bounty lower, flying beneath the open window. We caught the two of them just as they jumped out the window, landing safely on the deck.

Lloyd and I both simultaneously breathed out a sigh of relief, glad that they were okay. I smiled down at Sensei and Misako, and they smiled at each other, holding hands. They way they were fondly gazing into each other’s eyes…it seemed familiar somehow.

Then I realized: that was the way I often found myself looking at Lloyd nowadays. Ever since Nya had helped me realize that I was falling for him, my feelings for him had only grown worse. Most of the time, especially during a crisis such as this, I succeeded in ignoring such feelings. But when the danger and action was all over--like it was now--it all came rushing back to me.

As we sailed away on the Bounty, I glanced at Lloyd out of the corner of my eye, silently wondering if I would ever figure out if he felt the same way.


	10. Episode 22: The Last Voyage

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> If you thought that Lloyd and his mother meeting was an eventful family reunion, then you're in for a shock!
> 
> Also: Jay lies to his mother CONFIRMED!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter, right on schedule! After this, there's only 5 more to go! Wow! We're near the end already?
> 
> As always, I hope you all enjoy!  
> \----------------------

We thankfully found refuge outside the city, in a desert near the ocean. The Bounty was in critical condition when we landed, and it was clear that it wouldn’t be flying again until some major repairs were made. I was worried that the Stone Army would find us and attack us again, but the next day, they had seemingly vanished. I couldn’t decide whether I should be relieved or worried about that.

Currently, I was helping Nya and the boys (minus Zane) as we tried to fix the Bounty. We’d been working on it all morning, but unfortunately we weren’t having much luck repairing the boosters that allowed the ship to fly. I was aiding Nya in assessing the extent of the damage to the engine. At one point, I heard Jay yell in surprise, turning to see that the pipe he’d been fixing was now spraying oil all over him.

“Ugh, useless pile of junk!” he shouted at the pipe.

Nya frowned. “Oh, it’s worse than I feared. The rotors on the starboard booster are completely destroyed. The port boosters are shot from the strain.” She then turned to the others, who were busy fixing one of the wings. “Oh, sorry guys. She’s not getting airborne anytime soon.”

Kai, Lloyd, and Cole stopped what they were doing and faced us. “So if the Stone Army attacks again, we’re sitting ducks,” Cole stated, frowning in frustration.

“Uh, ducks can fly, Cole,” Jay informed him. “Weren’t you listening?”

I let out a snort of amusement. “How about sitting chickens?” I suggested.

“We just got our tails handed to us, and we couldn’t even stop one of them,” Kai grumbled. “Ah, I hate feeling hopeless!”

That was when Sensei Wu and Zane appeared, back from whatever they had been scouting out. “We mustn’t give up hope, Kai,” Sensei reminded him.

“But the Stone Army is indestructible,” Lloyd said. “You saw it. At best, all my and Aurora’s powers could do was slow them down.”

I sighed, feeling a little defeated at the moment. _He’s right. How are we supposed to defeat undefeatable warriors?_

Misako then walked up to us, holding one of her research scrolls. “That’s not entirely true,” she informed us. “There is a way to defeat them---and it is told within the scrolls.”

Everyone exchanged hopeful looks and smiles at the good news. Misako gestured for us to follow her inside the Bounty, and we all gathered on the bridge. I stood at a table next to Lloyd as Misako set the scroll down upon it, unraveling it to reveal painted pictures and words. It reminded me of the Green and Yellow Ninja prophecy scroll I’d once peeked at so long ago. There were four ninja figures at the bottom, once again bearing resemblance to Kai, Jay, Cole, and Zane. They were all reaching upward, shooting beams of their element up at two other ninja figures at the top of the scroll. The two ninja both sat with their legs crossed, looking like they were meditating. One was green, and the other one was yellow.

_Well, you know what that means._

“The prophecy reveals that the power to defeat the Stone Army lies within the Green Ninja and Yellow Ninja,” Misako explained, pointing at the glyphs painted on the scroll.

“We _tried_ ,” Lloyd told her.

I nodded in agreement. “Yeah. We gave them everything we had, but it wasn’t enough.”

“Yes, but you are both stronger than you think,” Misako informed us, smiling. She pointed at the pictures on the scroll. “Look. The true power of the Green and Yellow Ninjas can only be unlocked when their four protectors find their own pure elemental powers.”

Cole leaned over. “Are _we_ the protectors?” he asked.

Jay scoffed. “Silly question. Of course we are!” He laughed to himself, then stopped, looking unsure. “Right?”

I snickered at him. “At this point, I thought that was implied.”

“If we _are_ the protectors, then we’re doomed,” Zane announced. “Our elemental Golden Weapons no longer exist. We cannot tap into our elemental powers without them.”

“But the powers _do_ exist, within each of you,” Misako told them. “And there is a way to unlock your powers on your own. We must go to the Temple of Light.”

“Temple of Light?” Nya echoed. 

“What’s that?” I asked.

Misako pulled out another scroll, unraveling it on top of the first one. “The gold in the Golden Weapons was from the Golden Peaks, but they were forged in the Temple of Light, a powerful place I thought only existed in legend.”

Sensei read the scroll over her shoulder, and frowned. “It’s on the Dark Island?”

“I think our only choice is to find out,” Misako replied.

_The Dark Island…_ That was where the Overlord was. In order for us to gain the power to defeat the Stone Army, we had to go straight into their home base to get it. _Welp, nobody said this was gonna be easy._

“So we get our powers back?” Cole asked excitedly. “Alright!”

“But there’s still one big problem,” Nya said. “The Bounty can’t fly.”

Misako smiled. “It’s a ship, isn’t it? Can’t it sail?”

Jay scoffed again. “Silly question. Of course it can!” He laughed, then looked over at Nya to ask, “Right?”

. . .

Not too long later, with a little help from the people we’d evacuated, the Bounty had been moved off of the sand and into the water, ready to set sail over the sea. It was then that I realized that I had never been on the Bounty when it was on the water before; this would be a new and exciting experience for me. 

Lloyd and I left to meet up with our dragon, to make sure that he was okay and to let him know that we wouldn’t be back for a while. I went to a secluded area and whistled my dragon call, and our loyal four-headed dragon came running. I was relieved to see that he was alright, and he greeted us both warmly. After telling him of our plan, he insisted on at least flying us back to the Bounty, even though it was just a short walk away. I let Lloyd take the reins as we flew back, and it filled me with pride to see that he no longer had any trouble flying the dragon.

“You need to stay here, big guy,” Lloyd told the Ultra-Dragon as we arrived at our destination. “These people need your protection.”

I leaned down to pet the dragon’s neck. “We’re counting on you, buddy!”

He replied with an enthusiastic roar as he came down for a landing. Lloyd hopped off his back, and I followed him. I walked past the dragon’s heads, only to have one of them nudge me in the back, making me turn around to face him. The dragon looked sad that he wouldn’t be seeing us for a while.

“Oh, bud,” I cooed, wrapping my arms around his giant head. “We’ll be back before you know it! You’ll see.”

The Ultra-Dragon made a noise of acceptance, giving me one last affectionate nudge as I backed away. I smiled at him fondly, then turned around to head back to the Bounty once again. Lloyd was waiting for me, a small smirk on his face.

“Not a word, Montgomery,” I teased, stopping him before he could make any more comments about our dragon stealing his best friend.

Lloyd groaned as we walked across the sand together. “ _Why_ do you have to call me that?”

“Because your reactions are so worth it,” I informed him with a wide, smug grin as I giggled at his expense.

Lloyd responded very maturely, by purposely running into me as we walked. I then leaned to the left and playfully ran into him, making us both laugh. He ran into me again, and I returned the favor. This went on back and forth between us until we arrived at the Bounty, where we regained our composure with all the people around.

After my laughter died down, I realized with a start that I was blushing again. _Aw, not again!_ I fought the blush down, hoping that others mistook it for the effects of the sun’s heat. _I can’t even play around with him anymore without being reminded of my feelings! Ugh!_

Jay was telling his parents goodbye, Cole was being treated to a farewell song by his father, and Kai and Nya were talking with Dareth. Zane was on the ship, not saying goodbye to anyone, but I did see that he was being admired by...fangirls? I didn’t even know Zane had fangirls. Then again, he was a pretty cool guy, so it made sense.

Then finally, Sensei announced, “Pupils, it’s time we set sail.”

We all boarded the ship, giving the people one last farewell. The anchor was weighed, and Cole and Jay unfurled the sails. Nya steered the ship away from the small dock as we began to set sail. The boys and I all went to the balcony at the back of the ship, standing in a line and waving goodbye to the crowd on the shore that was wishing us well.

“Jay!” Jay’s mother yelled loudly, cupping her hands over her mouth. “Did you make sure to pack clean underwear?”

“ _Yes!_ ” Jay shouted back, groaning in frustration and embarrassment as he facepalmed. “Mom…”

The rest of us burst out laughing at his expense. Jay’s parents did embarrass him a lot, but at least you knew that they cared.

I waved at the crowd one last time as we sailed away. My family and I were on our way to the Dark Island, and hopefully, we would soon defeat our enemies once and for all.

I felt like my destiny was closer than ever to being fulfilled.

. . .

We sailed across the sea for the remainder of the day. Kai, Cole, Jay, Lloyd, and I all gathered in the bow of the ship on the right side to watch the beautiful sunset, while Miasko, Sensei, and Nya stood on the left side. The giant setting sun had dyed the entire ocean orange, and it was very pretty to look at.

I sighed as the wind gently blew into my face. “I know that we’re going into the belly of the beast, and that our final battle is near, but strangely...I feel at peace.”

“I know what you mean,” Lloyd replied from behind me, wrapping a loose arm around my shoulders comfortingly.

It was a good thing that he couldn’t see my face, because I was blushing again. And grinning like an idiot.

A few minutes later, Zane came up from the lower decks. I turned to face him as he walked up the steps, looking downcast. “Still no word from your falcon?” I asked him.

“Not yet,” he replied sadly. He joined us by the railing, standing in the middle of our group and staring out into the sea.

We all silently agreed to help take his mind off it. “I wonder what’s on the island?” Kai wondered aloud.

Zane smiled. “An entirely new ecosystem?”

“Never-before-seen creatures?” Cole guessed.

“Oh! Vegetables that taste like dessert?!” Jay exclaimed in excitement.

I giggled at him. “It’s called the Dark Island, Jay, not the Dream Island.”

“Hey! A man can dream!” Jay defended.

I snorted loudly. “Man?”

“Shut up, Aurora!”

Everyone else laughed as I teased Jay. We fell silent again for a moment more, then Kai spoke up again.

“I hope the Stone Army is there,” he said. “They may have gotten the best of us once, but never again.”

“You said it,” Cole agreed.

Jay nodded. “Here, here.”

Lloyd then frowned. “I wonder if this is the end of our destiny…”

Everyone’s faces grew solemn at his words. We all were beginning to realize that this could very well be the last battle for any of us---or for all of us.

“If it is,” Kai stated, “there isn’t anyone else I’d want by my side.”

I smiled. He’d summed up what we were all feeling perfectly. These guys, as dysfunctional as we were, were my family, every single one of them. Every day, I was thankful that they had come into my life and given me a home. There was nowhere I would rather be than with them---even to the end. “Ditto,” I told Kai.

“Here, here,” Jay said again.

“You said it,” Cole agreed, nodding.

Zane then suddenly gasped, his eyes glowing blue. “My falcon has arrived at the Dark Island!” he announced.

Everyone quickly scurried to the bridge, where Zane plugged himself into the giant monitor hanging on the wall. The live feed from the falcon popped up on the screen, showing the shoreline of an island.

“There,” Zane said. “Now we can all see.”

We all anxiously watched the screen in silent anticipation, getting our first look at the Dark Island. It definitely looked like it lived up to its name. The few trees that we could see were darkly colored, and even just from seeing it through a video it had a spooky vibe to it. Zane eventually tilted his head down, making the falcon look down at the sandy shore below. Something moved there, and I saw what looked to be a Stone Warrior standing on the shore. I watched in horror as he tossed a shuriken straight at the falcon, hitting it square in the eyes and making the entire feed fizzle out. Everyone gasped in shock, and Zane was thrown backwards by the sudden disconnection.

Zane sat up, looking shaken. “He’s...gone...”

“We don’t know that,” Sensei assured him.

Kai and Nya walked over to Zane, helping him to his feet. “Oh, Zane. I’m so sorry,” Nya told him.

“Well, he was our friend, too, so we’re not gonna let him go in vain,” Kai stated. “If the Stone Army wants a fight, they got one.”

“Well, that’s going to have to wait,” Misako said, pointing out the window at an approaching gray mass of clouds, “because right now, we’re sailing straight for a storm. All hands on deck!”

Geez, why did everything always have to happen at once?

The storm was upon us in no time. I was bewildered, wondering where the heck it had come from; the sky had been perfectly clear! Whatever caused it, it was here now, and we all leapt into action to keep the Destiny’s Bounty from falling prey to it.

Torrential downpours of rain fell upon us in unrelenting sheets, and the wind howled in our ears. The waves turned violent and rocked the ship relentlessly, water splashing up onto the deck. I was thankful that I wasn’t the type to get seasick. I was out on the deck huddling with Kai, Cole, Zane, and Lloyd, helping them hold the rope for the sails so that they’d stay unfurled. Jay was the only one not helping out, cowering over at the stairs that lead below deck and staying out of the rain.

“Hold the line!” Cole shouted over the howling wind.

“The winds are too strong!” Lloyd shouted back.

“We need everyone’s help, Jay!” Zane yelled back at the hiding lightning ninja.

I turned my head around to glare at said ninja. “Jay! Get your butt out here right now!”

“But I don’t wanna get wet!” Jay protested. “I… I only have one pair of underwear!”

Kai growled. “Jay, this is no time to be making jokes! The Bounty can only take so much!”

“You think I’m trying to be funny?!” Jay exclaimed.

I rolled my eyes as I pulled on the rope. “So you _lied_ to your mom?!” I admonished him. “Not cool, Jay!”

Out of nowhere, I suddenly heard...laughing? It wasn’t coming from any of the boys, and it was really bizarre and creepy. I looked around frantically, growing confused. _Okay, what the heck is that?_

“Okay, laugh all you want,” Jay yelled at us, “but we’ll see who laughs when I have to go commando!”

“Who’s laughing?” Cole asked.

The bizarre laughter continued, and I was getting really creeped out.

“Uh, guys?” Kai inquired. “Why is the sea laughing at us?”

“And why do I have a feeling we’re not gonna get the joke?” Jay added worriedly.

Suddenly, I saw movement out of the corner of my eye. A bunch of strange, glowing orange starfish were tossed aboard the ship by the waves. The laughter grew louder, and I realized that they were the source of it. “W-What the heck are those?” I asked, trying to keep the fear from my tone.

Cole let go of the rope to go look at them. Since he was the strongest of us, he’d been pulling most of the weight, so when he let go the rest of us went sliding forward a few feet. I tried not to fall on my face.

Jay, seeing us in distress, finally decided to run out onto the deck. “I’m coming! I got it!”

“About time, Jay!” Cole exclaimed.

As soon as Jay grabbed the end of the rope and started pulling, a huge wave splashed onto the deck, soaking him instantly. “Oh, perfect!” he shouted in frustration.

Cole, meanwhile, was still looking at the strange starfish. “It looks like some sort of a...hmm...fish.” He reached for one, picking it up and seeing teeth on the underside of it.

“Wait!” Misako came running outside in a panic. “We must not let the Starteeth on board! They devour ships, and they won’t stop until we sink!”

As if proving her point, the Starteeth that Cole was holding bit his hand, making him cry out in pain and drop it. “It bit me!” he exclaimed.

The group of Starteeth hopped across the deck, jumping onto the rope we were pulling. They quickly chewed their way through it, making the rope snap. We all lost our balance and fell backward. I fell back into Lloyd, and we both crashed onto the soggy deck. Before I could scramble to my feet, the ship tilted, and we all went sliding over to the railing. As Lloyd offered me a hand to help me stand up, more of the Starteeth creatures leapt aboard the ship, immediately beginning to chew at the deck.

“Get these things off the ship!” Kai told us.

We all scattered, doing everything we could to get the Starteeth off our ship. I grabbed them two, sometimes three at a time, hurriedly throwing them over the side before going to grab more. I threw so many of the stupid things off the ship, but they just kept coming and coming.

“Faster! Or we’ll sink!” Lloyd shouted.

I ran over to a pile of them, picking them up one by one and blasting each of them back into the ocean with short blasts of light. “No one invited you!” I shouted at them as I dispatched them as quickly as I could. I kept blasting and throwing them off the ship again and again, until my arms started hurting. But the things just kept coming with each ocean wave, laughing loudly at us the entire time.

We all eventually tried using our Spinjitzu, lighting up the darkness with the bright vortexes as we scooped up all the Starteeth and propelled them over the side and back into the ocean. Thankfully, we finally seemed to banish them all from the deck.

“Sink your teeth into that!” Kai exclaimed.

Jay gasped, watching a few stragglers chewing through a metal chain. “They eat through metal, too?!”

“Uh, guys?” Lloyd shouted over the wind. “I think we have a bigger problem!”

I followed his gaze down to the hull of the ship, and gasped in horror when I saw that the Starteeth had already chewed a giant hole in the ship, allowing water to flood into it. _Oh no… No, no, no…_ Was our voyage over before it had truly begun?

Jay loudly groaned in despair. “Oh, I should have brought an extra pair of underwear…”

. . .

Thankfully, we all survived the storm. Dark clouds soon gave way to a clear sky, and the waters calmed down. The damage was done, however: the giant hole was letting water into the ship, and the ship itself was now immobile. Everyone gathered downstairs to help try and get the water out of the ship, using buckets to scoop it out. No matter how much water we seemed to get rid of, though, there was never an end to it, as more kept slowly seeping in.

“Ah, this is hopeless!” Kai exclaimed. “Now that we have no rudder, we’ve been drifting aimlessly and will never get to the Dark Island.”

“We only know what is foretold will happen,” Misako assured him. “Not when it will happen.”

Before Zane could hand me the bucket, he suddenly dropped it, walking over to the giant hole.

“What’s wrong, Zane?” I asked him.

Zane stared out of the hole. “I sense something…”

“Is it the falcon?” Cole asked hopefully.

“Is he alright?” Jay asked.

Zane shook his head. “No it’s, uh…” His eyes widened. “...something else! Brace yourselves!”

The ship suddenly struck something solid, sending everyone flying. I crashed onto my back in the water, groaning from the impact as the ship stopped. _Really tired of falling down today,_ I thought spitefully. I rubbed my head as I sat up, then saw Lloyd offer me a hand.

“Are you okay?” he asked me.

I couldn’t help but smile as he hauled me to my feet. “I’m good. Thanks.”

He nodded, mirroring my smile. As he turned away, I sighed, my heart fluttering a little at how he’d immediately come to make sure I was alright.

_Snap out of it, Aurora!_ I mentally scolded myself. _Now’s not the time!_

We ventured out of the ship, surprised to find that we’d been marooned on some sort of rocky island. A long staircase led up to a tall stone building that towered into the sky. It looked like some sort of old lighthouse---a creepy, abandoned lighthouse.

“Who would build a lighthouse way out here?” Lloyd wondered as we stopped in front of it.

“It’s not a lighthouse,” Zane informed him. “It’s a prison.”

We all climbed up the long flight of stairs all the way to the door at the top that led into the lighthouse. At one point, we heard a low, menacing growl from somewhere out in the ocean, making me grow a little nervous.

“Do we _want_ to know what that was?” I wondered aloud.

“Oh, I should have brought an extra pair of underwear…” Jay whined again.

Sensei hummed. “Mysterious. We better keep going.”

Not too long after that, we made it to the top. The door was closed, and there was a small security camera pointed down at us as we approached.

“Uh, should we smile?” Jay asked nervously.

The sound of footsteps then approached the door. I heard a series of unlocking noises, and then the door flew open, revealing a grinning old man wearing glasses and a lab coat.

“Zane!” he yelled in joy. “Is it really you?! You found me!” He wasted no time pulling Zane into a hug, who seemed extremely shocked.

“Uh...do you know him?” Lloyd asked the scientist.

“Of _course_ I know him!” the man exclaimed as he pulled away from Zane. “I built him, for heaven’s sake!”

My eyes widened. _Say what now?!_

Zane looked confused. “But...my memory tells me that you have passed.”

“Ah, you found your memory switch,” the scientist stated.

Suddenly, the growling we heard earlier came again---louder this time, as if it were closer. I gulped.

The scientist looked around frantically. “Hurry! It can’t know that you’re here, or else there will be dues to pay!”

Jay gulped. “It?”

“I’ll explain everything inside,” the old scientist told us. “Including why it is that you thought I was dead,” he added to Zane.

He quickly ushered us all inside, slamming the door behind us once we were all in. He immediately began locking the door again, and checked the security camera.

“Locking, barricading, and checking…” He stared at the camera footage screen for a long moment, then sighed in relief. “I think we’re safe.” He turned to us, smiling and leading us away. “This way.”

The old scientist led us upstairs, all the way to the top of the tower. The room we found upstairs was quite cozy and homey, a stark contrast to the rest of the lighthouse. It looked like we’d get to relax a bit after our latest near-brush with death.

“Please, please, have a seat!” he urged us kindly. “You must be thirsty.”

Zane smiled. “Seat, where?” he asked, as there wasn’t really anywhere to sit in the room.

The scientist responded by pulling a nearby lever. The floor opened up, and the massive light in the center of the room was suddenly replaced by a low wooden table with cushions all around it. “There, of course,” he said with a mirthful grin.

“Woah. That’s pretty smart,” Nya admitted.

“A technical wizard,” Cole added, also impressed.

Well, this guy did build Zane. If he could build something as amazing as a self-aware, humanoid nindroid, then I was sure that he could create almost anything.

As we all gathered around the table to sit down, I saw Jay sneak over to the line of clothes hanging in the corner of the room. He quickly snatched a pair of blue underwear when he thought nobody was looking. For his sake, I resisted the urge to burst out laughing. Everyone sat down around the table, and I sat between Lloyd and Kai. When we were all settled, Zane’s father pressed a button on a control panel. A door slid open, revealing a cute little robot holding a tower of teacups. I stared at it curiously as it rolled its way over to the table, hopping upon it and setting a teacup down in front of each of us. When it was done with that, it went back over to Zane’s father and grabbed a teapot from his hands. I watched in fascination as it hopped back up on the table and began pouring us tea, not spilling a single drop.

Of course, Jay decided that he wanted to mess with it. When the robot rolled over to him, Jay moved his cup around every time the poor thing tried to pour tea into it. Eventually, the robot started actually pouring the tea and missed, making the hot liquid fall straight onto his hand. Jay shrieked in pain as the tea burned him, leaping up and hopping around the room as the rest of us laughed at him.

Zane walked over to a familiar-looking blueprint as our laughter died down. “Father, I don’t understand,” he said as the old scientist walked over to him. “I saw you pass.”

“Yes, you did,” his father confirmed. “And believe me when I tell you, I thought I was kaput! But as you know in Ninjago, the past is the past.”

“And the future…” Misako continued.

“...is the future,” Sensei finished, touching her hand.

“Yes,” Zane’s father agreed. He turned back to Zane. “But after I turned off your memory switch, what you didn’t see was bonehead Samukai reviving me with a special elixir. He wanted me to create state-of-the-art war machines for their army. He said if I did, then I would be able to see my son again. And to make sure I didn’t escape, he chained a leviathan to keep guard.”

I gulped audibly. “Uh… A leviathan?”

“That’s what we heard in the ocean?” Lloyd asked worriedly.

“Yes,” Zane’s father told us. He gave Zane a sad look. “When Samukai didn’t return, I thought I would never see you again. But as so much time has passed, I started to question if you would ever _want_ to see me again. I was afraid if you found out what horrible things I created, you would think I was a...a monster.”

Zane put a reassuring hand on his shoulder. “We will get you out of here, father,” he promised. “Now that we are together, perhaps we can invent a way off this rock.”

“Could you repair the rocket boosters on our ship?” Jay asked, walking over to the window to point out the marooned Bounty down below.

Zane’s father peered out the window, and his face lit up. “That sailing ship has rocket boosters?!”

Nya walked up to him. “Well, the rotors and gears are shot…”

“Oh, pish posh! No matter!” Zane’s father interjected. “I’ll have your ship airworthy by dawn!”

I smiled. _Well, that’s a relief._

Suddenly, we heard that menacing growl again---even louder than before. In fact, it was so loud, that the whole building began to shake. I grabbed onto the windowsill, trying not to fall over.

“It’s an earthquake!” Cole exclaimed.

“No---it’s much worse,” Zane’s father said. “He’s here. Everyone hide!”

Everyone followed his instructions and scattered to find a hiding place. I scurried to a secluded spot behind a chest of drawers and a shelf, dropping to my knees and pressing myself into the corner between them and the wall. Lloyd just so happened to follow me, dropping down beside me and crouching in front of me, trapping me in the corner. He had to squeeze in close so that he’d be out of the view of the windows as I was. His back was to me, so he thankfully couldn’t see me blushing; having him pressed up against me in a small space was _definitely_ _not_ helping my feelings and emotions.

_Still not the time, Aurora!_ I scolded myself.

Peering around Lloyd, I saw Zane’s father sitting at the table, looking down and trying to act natural. “Nobody make a sound,” he whispered.

The leviathan’s eyes rose up behind him, peering into the room through the windows. It was unlike any creature I’d ever seen; for one thing, its eyes seemed to be on a tentacle.

Zane’s father turned around, pretending to just notice the leviathan invading his privacy. “Ah, if it isn’t my old chum!” he greeted happily.

The leviathan’s eyes moved around the corner, looking at the many cups that were spread out across the table. Zane’s father immediately grabbed them all and turned them all upside down, pulling out chopsticks and hitting the teacups as if they were drums.

“Hee, hee,” he giggled. “Just marching to the beat of my own drum! You know, doing whatever I can to pass the time...since I’m so, you know, heh, alone.”

The leviathan thankfully bought it, lowering its eyes out of sight and vanishing back into the ocean below. Everyone crept out of their hiding spots once it was gone.

“If we’re gonna make something to get out of here, we’re gonna have to hurry---before _it_ comes back,” Kai stated.

With that, everyone got to work. Zane and his father quickly drew up plans and designs for the Bounty to make it fly again, and the rest of us executed the plan, gathering the parts and then actually building the thing. It took us the remainder of the day, but with all of us working together, things got done pretty quickly. As the sun was setting, we were growing close to finishing. 

I was on the Bounty’s deck with Lloyd and Cole, helping them sew what was left of our sails together. Cole started humming a familiar tune as he worked, and eventually Lloyd and I looked at him in question.

“What?” Cole asked us. “It’s catchy.”

I giggled at him. He sure was in a good mood. To be honest, I kind of was, too. A few minutes later, I decided to follow his lead. I started singing softly beneath my breath, as to not disturb anybody:

_“It’s time for training and we’re getting started_

_It’s on, you know_

_And we wanna see you whip and shout it_

_We rock, you roll…”_

Lloyd turned to me curiously when he heard me singing. “What song is that?”

I smiled somewhat shyly. “Remember that theme song that I started making up for the ninja?”

He made a noise of realization. “Wait, you finished it?”

“Almost finished it,” I corrected. “I’m still trying to come up with a few lyrics…”

“You’ve gotta sing it for us when you’re done with it,” Lloyd told me, smiling in excitement. “It sounds awesome.”

I chuckled. “It’s a promise,” I replied.

Night soon fell, and we finally finished making the Bounty airworthy again. We all gathered to study our handiwork. The Bounty sure looked different; instead of sails, a giant blimp-like balloon was suspended atop the ship. Only a minute after we finished, Zane and his father came sprinting out of the lighthouse in a panic. 

“Everyone aboard!” Zane’s father shouted at us. “It’s coming!”

Startled, my gaze snapped to the ocean just in time to see huge blue tentacles rising out of the water, towering over us and the Bounty. “Oh crap,” I cursed.

“It’s here!” Kai announced, pointing at it.

Jay grabbed Nya’s arm. “Get us out of here, Nya!”

Everyone scurried onto the Bounty. Nya quickly ran up to the bridge while the rest of us stood on the deck, gazing up in terror at the leviathan’s tentacles. I hung onto the railing as the ship jerked upward, rising into the air shakily. Nya turned the ship away from the leviathan, rising into the sky as fast as she could. The rocket boosters on the back roared, and I thought that we were about to blast away---but before we could, the leviathan’s tentacles reached up and snatched us. It tilted the ship backwards, making us slide down the inclined deck and lose our balance.

I clung onto the ship, stopping near Sensei and Lloyd. Yeah, I was _really_ getting tired of falling down today. _What now?_ I wondered.

As if answering my thoughts, Sensei turned in my direction. “Lloyd, Aurora, use your elemental powers!”

_Why didn’t I think of that?_ Nodding at him, I replied with a determined, “On it!”

“As you wish, Sensei!” Lloyd responded.

My best friend and I quickly stood up, keeping our balance on the tilted deck. Quickly, we both summoned our powers. I concentrated, pulling my hands close and forming an orb of yellow light between them. It created a bright, warm glow in the dark night. I hurried to make the light grow bigger, pouring all of my power into it. Lloyd did the same with his elemental energy.

“Release us, you monster!” Lloyd shouted at the leviathan as he and I threw our orbs of power upward. The green and yellow orbs grew exponentially, and eventually they joined together as one, surrounding the entire ship. The wave of power quickly made the leviathan release us, its tentacles retracting back to the water below, allowing us to rise into the sky once more.

“Woo-hoo!” I cheered, happily exchanging a high-five with Lloyd.

“Well done!” Sensei Wu praised us.

Sadly, we celebrated too soon. The leviathan came back with a vengeance, growling loudly and latching its tentacles onto the ship once again. _Well, that didn’t work,_ I thought. _What now?_

I noticed Zane leaning over the railing, looking down into the water below. He gasped at something. “It’s chained!” he shouted. After pausing for a moment, he then climbed onto the side of the ship, standing on top of the railing.

“Zane!” his father shouted. “What are you doing?”

“The leviathan won’t let us leave,” Zane told him. “I think I know a way I can help.”

“But you can’t jump in!” his father protested. “These oceans are filled with Starteeth!”

Zane calmly shot him a glance. “I know.” Then, he let himself fall forward off the railing, plummeting into the ocean below.

“Zane! No!” his father shouted, arriving at the railing where his son had been a moment earlier. He watched helplessly as his son dived into the sea.

I, however, wasn’t too worried. I think I knew what Zane had in mind---and I knew that if anyone could pull it off, it would be him.

A few long, stressful moments later--and after a lot more falling and sliding around--the leviathan suddenly just let go of the Bounty.

“It let us go!” Cole exclaimed in shock.

“What happened?” Zane’s father wondered.

I leapt to my feet, rushing over to help him stand up. “I think Zane released the leviathan,” I told him, smiling in relief. “Now it’s letting us go.”

“But where is my son?!” he asked frantically.

As he spoke, I saw Zane behind him, climbing over the railing and back onto the ship. I smiled at him, relieved that he was alright. I’d never doubted him.

“I’m here, father!” Zane announced as he climbed aboard.

Zane’s father whirled around to face him. “Zane!” he exclaimed in relief, running over to embrace his son. “Zane…”

“How did you know if you freed it from captivity, it would let us go?” Sensei asked Zane.

The nindroid replied with a knowing smile. “Because no one deserves to be held captive,” he explained, “not even a monster.”

Zane turned around as the leviathan growled again, but less menacing than before. He smiled down at it as it blinked up at him, as if thanking him. It then lowered its tentacle back into the ocean, and I saw the surface ripple as the large creature swam off into the horizon.

“Farewell, creature from the sea,” Zane said. “Enjoy your freedom.”

As the morning sun of dawn emerged from the ocean’s horizon, Nya steered the Bounty away from the lighthouse and into the sky. I leaned on the railing, watching the sunrise as we once again sailed toward the foreboding Dark Island---and toward our destiny.


	11. Episode 23: Island of Darkness

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Now we venture into the belly of the beast.
> 
> Even in a place called the Dark Island, you can find things of beauty. There's always a light to be found in the darkness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're at the Dark Island already?! It wasn't that long ago when I posted the first chapter of this book. Heck, it wasn't that long ago when I began this crazy story! How are we already here? How does this series have so many hits? How do I have so many kudos? How did I get so many fans? I have fans?!
> 
> We're closer than ever to the final battle, and I hope you're all just as excited as I am! Please enjoy, and leave a comment if you want to! Comments make me happy :)  
> \---------------------

We arrived at the Dark Island sooner than I thought we would. On our way there, I attempted to get some sleep, but I was only able to fall asleep for a few hours because I was so anxious. Most of the others were in the same boat, I later found out.

Thankfully, our landing went unnoticed. We found a secluded shoreline to land the Destiny’s Bounty; I was watching the treeline like a hawk as we descended, ready to leap into action if any Stone Warriors showed their faces, but they never came. Almost immediately after landing, we knew we had to hide the ship, so some of us buried the ship in the sand the best we could while the rest scouted the area. Kai reported that the island was crawling with Stone Warriors, much to my chagrin.

Despite that, I focused on the task at hand. Now that we were finally here, our first order of business was to find the Temple of Light. Everyone gathered on the bridge to discuss our plan. I peered around Lloyd as his mother once again unrolled the scroll with the Temple of Light depicted on it.

“The scrolls say there is a hidden temple on the island,” she reminded us. “If you find it, it will give the ninja pure elemental powers---powers that can destroy the indestructible army.”

“So you’re saying we get to fight?” Cole asked excitedly. He beamed in delight. “Ooo, I’ve got happy feet!”

Misako then turned to me and Lloyd. “And for you two, here it is written: ‘For once the Green Ninja and Yellow Ninja find the instrument of peace, they will strike it, and both know the power of the Ultimate Spinjitzu Master.’”

“Whoa…” I gasped, getting chills for some reason.

“Ultimate Spinjitzu Master?” Lloyd echoed.

His mother smiled at him. “It means you will be able to invoke the power of the Golden Dragon, an ancient fighting style only practiced by the first Spinjitzu master.” She then turned to me. “And it also says that you, Aurora, will be able to wield the power of the Silver Lining.”

Upon hearing this news, Lloyd and I grinned widely, and the boys’ mouths all fell agape in awe. Lloyd smirked at them, chuckling proudly. “Jealous?” he asked.

I raised a hand. “Misako?” I inquired. “What exactly is the ‘Silver Lining?’”

“I’m afraid I’m not sure,” she replied. “Most of the writings I was able to find mainly mentioned things about the Green Ninja and the first Spinjitzu master. But I believe the answer lies within the temple.”

I nodded, accepting her answer. _Well, whatever it is, this “Silver Lining” power sounds pretty amazing!_ And Lloyd would be able to fight with a golden dragon? How cool was that?

“Wait a minute,” Kai interjected. “This all sounds too good to be true. What’s the catch?”

“The catch is, the temple could be anywhere on the island,” Sensei replied, “and all we have is this.” He pulled out a shiny old medallion, with three holes near the top and a depiction of a dragon carved into it.

Zane’s father grabbed it, studying it in his hand. “A medallion,” he observed. “It’s like a compass. When the three holes match up, the medallion will reveal where the temple is hidden.”

“Uh, how’d you know that?” Jay asked.

Zane’s father smiled. “Oh, I did a lot of reading in my spare time. Adventure stories were my favorite.” He chuckled to himself.

Well, that was convenient.

Zane took the medallion from his father’s hand. “Then what are we waiting for?”

I was one of the first ones to stand up from the table, excited to find this temple. “Let’s go!” I exclaimed, starting to walk for the door.

Before I could make it very far, Sensei Wu stepped in front of me and Lloyd, stopping us from leaving. “Not you two,” he told us.

Somehow, a small part of me had been expecting this. That didn’t make it any less disappointing, though. “Oh, come on,” I protested, groaning in frustration.

“Ah, seriously?” Lloyd grumbled. “Are we still doing this?”

“Wu is right,” Misako said, coming up behind Sensei. “If you and Aurora were to come across your father, it could prematurely start the final battle. We need to be at full strength before we take any risks.”

Jay laughed from over where he and the others were standing by the door. “Jealous?”

Lloyd scoffed at him, frowning. I rolled my eyes, but decided not to utter any retort. _At least we don’t have to go out and deal with the Stone Warriors yet!_

“Well, I could use some help around the shop,” Zane’s father suggested, kindly offering us something to do. “We should get working on vehicles that might help give us a fighting chance.”

Sensei turned to Kai, Cole, Jay, and Zane. “Remember, Garmadon doesn’t know we’re on the island. It is imperative that you stay out of sight.”

Jay put his hands on his hips. “Of course, Sensei! Don’t worry. Have you ever known us to veer from a plan? Huh?”

We all responded with unamused, deadpan looks. I facepalmed, thinking of the many times they’d done exactly that.

The guys all struck poses. “Ninja…”

“Shh!” Sensei rapidly hushed them. “Not so loud! Are you _trying_ to get us caught?!”

“...Go,” the ninja finished meekly in a whisper.

. . .

After Cole, Jay, Kai, and Zane left to find the temple, the rest of us got to work on those vehicles that Zane’s father had mentioned. He’d apparently already drawn up a few blueprints on the way here, and had also brought a bunch of scrap for us to build with, so we could get straight to work. It was a nice distraction from worrying about everything that was plaguing my mind: wondering if the ninja were alright, wondering where the temple was, hoping that the Stone Army didn’t find us, my ever-growing feelings that I was trying to ignore, realizing that Lloyd and I were closer than ever to the final battle---

Okay, not helping.

We made good progress in a short amount of time. I crouched down on top of the vehicle, helping Lloyd screw in the giant drill on the front. Sensei Wu hauled over a box of spare parts from the Bounty, setting them down next to where Zane’s father was working.

“Thank you, Wu,” he said, smiling in thanks. “If you could fetch some more creek water, that should pretty much do it.”

Spying the two heavy water buckets on the ground, I decided to help him out. “I’ll go with you,” I announced, sliding off the vehicle and flipping over to the buckets (I had to use all this pent-up energy somehow). I picked up one bucket while Sensei Wu picked up the other, happily walking in the direction of the creek. Sensei lagged behind me. 

What I didn’t see was him stop for a moment, fondly locking gazes with Misako while Lloyd watched them in confusion.

Sensei and I made our way to the nearby creek, finding it in no time. We both knelt down next to the water, filling our buckets with it.

A thought occurred to me. “Hey, Sensei?”

“Yes?” he replied, turning to me.

“I feel like I should thank you again,” I told him, smiling. “For letting me stay, when I first met you guys.” I gestured around us. “If you hadn’t, then I wouldn’t be here now. I wouldn’t have this family.” I smiled shyly. “So...thanks.”

Sensei Wu returned my smile. “I’m glad that you’re here, Aurora. As I said before, everything happens for a reason. Just as it was your destiny to become the Yellow Ninja, it was our destiny to become your family.”

I nodded, feeling all warm and fuzzy on the inside. However, as I pulled my bucket of water out of the creek, my thoughts turned to the orphanage I’d left behind. I’d run away without a word or a goodbye of any kind… I had thought about this often, and every time I did, waves of guilt rushed through me. How long had they searched for me? Were they still trying to find me now? Did they know that I was okay and had found a home? They probably didn’t. The adults there had always been so nice to me...and this was how I repaid them. By giving them sleepless nights as they worried and wondered where I had disappeared to.

_Perhaps I’m overexaggerating a little…_ But what if I wasn’t? _You can’t do anything about it right now,_ I told myself, pushing the thought away. _Maybe someday, I could go back just to let them know I’m alright…_

I was broken from my thoughts at the sight of a pretty yellow butterfly fluttering by my face. I stood up, admiring it as it landed on a nearby leaf. The Dark Island was ominous and creepy, but surprisingly, some parts of it were still beautiful.

Suddenly, I heard someone talking nearby. I realized that it was the unmistakable foreign tongue of the Stone Warriors, and I silently gasped. I looked to Sensei, and his expression told me that he’d heard it, too. He jerked his head toward a fallen tree nearby, and I nodded. The two of us picked up our buckets and scurried over to it, leaping behind it and hiding. Setting my bucket down, I pulled my mask over my head and then peeked back over the tree to see the Stone Warriors appear across the creek, with some sort of giant weaponized motorbike.

Sensei and I exchanged a look, realizing that we had to get out of here fast. We began backing up, silently tiptoeing away. But then Sensei stepped on a twig, which snapped _very_ loudly, attracting the Stone Warriors’ attention. They growled angrily when they spotted us, and we both gasped.

“Run!” I exclaimed.

Dropping my bucket, I whirled around and sprinted in the other direction, Sensei hot on my tail. The Stone Warriors began shooting circular razor-sharp blades at us, narrowly missing us as we hightailed it into the bamboo forest. We looked back to see the warriors hop into their vehicle and drive straight for us.

Sensei stopped, breaking a piece of bamboo with his foot and wielding it like a bo staff. I followed his lead, stopping next to him and dropping into a ready stance. If we couldn’t outrun them, then we would definitely fight. At least I’d finally get to use my pent-up energy.

The Stone Warrior’s vehicle raced toward us. It stopped in front of us abruptly, and the Stone Warrior standing on the front leapt at us. Sensei jabbed his bamboo staff into the warrior’s stomach, throwing him over his head and onto his back. Another one leapt at me, and I blasted him away with a shock of lightning. I saw another warrior--one that seemed different than the rest--grab Sensei’s staff and wrench it from his hands, tossing it aside. Sensei responded by whacking him with a few precise punches, but it had no effect on him. The warrior grabbed his fist, then kicked him, sending him flying into a bunch of bamboo.

“Sensei!” I gasped. After creating a short burst of light to stun the Stone Warrior, I rushed over to stand in front of Sensei as the warrior came closer. I gathered flames in my hands, determined to protect my sensei, even if I couldn’t do anything but slow the Stone Warrior down.

The Stone Warrior quickly recovered from being blinded, and picked up a few of the sharp broken sticks of bamboo, holding them above his head as he prepared to strike us with them. I was about to blast him with fire, when someone else beat me to it; a burst of fire came out of nowhere, burning the bamboo in the warrior’s hands.

Surprised, I looked up to see Lloyd standing atop a rock, flames in his hands. I grinned in relief. Lloyd then shot a blast of earth at him, effectively trapping him in stone.

“Yes!” I exclaimed, grinning up at Lloyd.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw one of the other warriors picking himself back up. He picked up a piece of bamboo, aiming it at us.

“Watch out!” a familiar voice cried. I looked up to see Misako sliding down between two pieces of bamboo, kicking the Stone Warrior in the face as she landed, then pinning him down with his own bamboo staff. She smiled at Sensei, who sighed in relief, and...admiration?

The Stone Warrior she had pinned down tried to get back up again, only to be met with Lloyd shocking him with lightning. The last warrior at the catapult tried to shoot us with the razor blades again, but Lloyd quickly froze the contraption. The warrior then tried to run away scared. Lloyd and I seemed to have the same idea; we both grabbed pieces of bamboo and threw them one by one at the retreating warrior, creating a makeshift bamboo cage around him, effectively trapping him.

Once the fight was over, I smiled in relief. _Whew! Good thing Lloyd and his mother showed up when they did._

While Misako went to help Sensei to his feet, Lloyd and I quickly gathered all the incapacitated Stone Warriors and tied them together with the one Lloyd had trapped in stone (which was ironic). It was a struggle, but somehow we were able to do it.

“Thanks for the save,” I told Lloyd.

Lloyd smiled at me. “I’ll always be there to have your back.”

I mirrored his smile, feeling warm and fuzzy all over again.

“That was close,” Sensei stated as he and Misako walked over. “Our presence on the island cannot be hidden for much longer. I just hope the ninja have located the temple. Knowing them, they’ve probably already found it by now.”

Eh, with their history, I was inclined to disagree. But I’d let Sensei Wu remain optimistic.

. . .

We all returned to the Bounty safe and sound. It didn’t take us long to finish the vehicle we’d been working on, which meant that now we waited for the ninja to return.

Not long after finishing the new vehicle, I spotted the familiar figures of the ninja from the corner of my eye. They burst from the treeline, sprinting toward us. “Look, there they are!” I exclaimed, pointing to them.

“Hey, they found the falcon!” Zane’s father exclaimed happily.

Lloyd frowned. “Why are they running?”

I walked up next to him and sighed. “My guess? They were probably discovered.”

The guys regrouped with us, out of breath from all their running. Zane set his falcon down on the table. “Prepare for battle,” he told us. “We’ve got company.”

“You were spotted?” Sensei guessed. “By one? Two?”

“How about _all of them_ ,” Kai informed him.

I snorted. “Called it,” I whispered to Lloyd.

“Did you locate the Temple of Light?” Miasko asked as we all gathered around the table.

“It’s at the top of the mountain,” Kai told us. “I hope those vehicles are ready, because we could sure use ‘em now.”

Zane’s father led us all over to the vehicle we’d built. Under these circumstances and given the limited parts we’d had to build it with, it didn’t look half bad at all.

“Guess you’re gonna have to figure this baby out on the fly,” Zane’s father said.

Kai, Cole, and Zane immediately leapt inside.

“I’ve also packed another surprise in back,” Nya mentioned to Jay. “Perhaps it can be of use.”

She leaned in and pecked Jay on the lips. I saw it happen, smiling at how cute it was but also remembering the conversation I’d had with Nya not too long ago. _Maybe one day, it’ll happen…_

“ _Another_ Nya surprise?!” Jay exclaimed in excitement.

I waited next to Lloyd as his mother said goodbye to him. “You’ll have to go, too,” she told us, smiling at her son. “Be safe, both of you.”

Lloyd nodded at her. “We will,” he assured her.

Smirking, I threw an arm around his shoulder. “Don’t worry. I’ll make sure he stays out of trouble,” I teased. “As always.”

We all shared a laugh. Then, Lloyd and I hopped into the vehicle, finding empty seats next to each other.

“Whatever you do, do not stop until you get to the Temple of Light,” Sensei urged us. “Our survival depends on it.”

Kai nodded at him. “This time, we’ll stick to the plan.”

_That’ll be a first._ I wanted to say it aloud, but thought better of it.

“Good luck, ninja,” Sensei told us as the hatch slid closed over the cockpit.

Cole started up the vehicle, driving out of the ditch we were hiding in and onto the shore. Not too long after that, several other vehicles burst from the forest, chasing after us. Cole immediately used evasive maneuvers, swerving on the sand and trying to outrun the Stone Warriors.

“You do know how to steer this thing, don’t you?” Jay shouted from the back.

Cole didn’t grace him with a reply, instead concentrating on driving. Two of the pursuing vehicles speeded ahead of us, stopping sideways in order to trap us. Thinking quickly, Cole steered our vehicle into a sharp U-turn, using a nearby boulder as a ramp. We flew through the air, approaching the third enemy vehicle that had still been chasing us. Cole activated the drill, and we tunneled underneath it, effectively escaping the Stone Warriors.

We emerged a short time later, at the base of the mountain where the temple resided. The vehicle sputtered and whirred, coming to a stop.

“Well, that’s about as far as this baby will go,” Cole announced. “We’ll have to do the rest on our own.”

“But we’ll never make it up the mountain before they arrive,” Lloyd pointed out.

“Well then let’s see what my sister packed,” Kai said, hopping out of the vehicle. He made his way to the back, pressing a button and making a case pop off the back. It opened and unraveled, eventually forming a samurai suit just for Kai. “Oh, I love my sis!” I heard him exclaim in glee.

He hopped in happily, just as the Stone Warriors’ vehicles caught up with us. He turned around and ran to engage them as the rest of us hopped out of the vehicle and went to the base of the mountain. Kai threw one of the vehicles back into the forest, and made the rest topple over. He walked back to us, but some of the enemy’s vehicles apparently still worked, and began pursuing us once more.

“These guys just don’t stop!” Jay exclaimed.

“Indestructible _and_ persistent,” I groaned. “Because that’s fair.”

Kai walked over to us in his samurai suit. “Climb on!” he urged us.

We all immediately leapt aboard, clinging onto different parts of the suit. As the Stone Warriors approached us, Kai turned and leapt onto the rock, quickly climbing the steep mountain. I held on for dear life as he climbed as fast as he could. The warriors’ vehicles easily followed us, apparently having the ability to drive up the mountain.

“Oh, they’re still coming!” Jay shouted.

Cole moved his head to address Kai. “One of these days, we’re gonna have to fight!”

“We’re not climbing fast enough,” Zane observed as the warriors rapidly caught up with us.

One of the Stone Warriors climbed out of his vehicle, leaping onto one of the suit’s feet. “Hey, no hitchhikers!” I exclaimed, shooting a quick beam of light straight at the warrior. It knocked him off the foot, sending him falling off the mountain.

“Nice one, Aurora!” Kai praised.

After spotting a ledge coming into view above us, Kai activated a grappling hook, which shot out of one of the suit’s hands and latched onto the stone. It quickly pulled us upward, over a bunch of rocky outcroppings and onto the ledge. The Stone Warriors wouldn’t have as easy of a time following us, so we were safe---for the moment.

I leapt off the samurai suit, looking around. I didn’t see the temple anywhere---in fact, the mountain peak looked quite barren.

“We made it to the top!” Jay cheered. Then, he looked around, also noticing the lack of a temple. “But where’s the Temple of Light?”

“Are you sure you used the medallion right?” Lloyd asked.

“Oh, of course I used it right!” Jay retorted. “It said it should be right here.”

Kai turned around in his samurai suit, facing the approaching Stone Warriors. “Well, until we find it, I’ve got to find a way to slow them down.” He used the suit to blast chucks of rock off the mountain, making them fall and block the path of the warriors’ vehicles. “There. That should buy us some time.”

I stared up at the barren mountain cliffs, wanting to find this temple more than ever. Then, I felt a strange warmth in my chest, as if something was calling to me… Deciding to listen to it, I ran forward, leaping onto the rock and scaling the cliff.

“Aurora, wait up!” Lloyd called after me. He and the rest of the ninja followed me up the mountain.

I climbed as fast as I could. Sure, I was a little scared of falling--mainly because I had never rock climbed before--but somehow, I knew that we were close to the Temple of Light, and that kept me going. At one point, I craned my neck upward, and gasped at what I saw. A bright light was shining from the top of the peak---so out of place on a dark island such as this.

“I see a light!” I shouted down to the others. “We’re close!”

Excited now, I climbed faster, ignoring my aching arm muscles. Eventually, I pulled myself over a ledge, onto the peak of the mountain. I gasped again when I looked up, met with the wonderful sight of a gorgeous temple. It looked ancient, but was still in great condition. It was beautifully painted and ornate, lined with gold and silver metal, sparkling brightly in the darkness. I could hardly believe my eyes.

“The Temple of Light,” I gasped in awe, grinning. I then turned to shout downward, “Guys! It’s here!”

Lloyd was the first one to reach me, and I helped pull him up. When he saw the temple, he gasped, too. He and I waited for the others to climb up before approaching the temple. We approached the massive doors with dragons painted on them, pushing them open to reveal the inside of the temple. Four pillars stood around a circle in the center of the room, a massive bell hanging in the middle. The walls were all lined with ancient writings and pictures. As we walked up to study them, their depictions looked strangely familiar.

“Guys, check this out,” Jay said, pointing to a section of the wall. “It’s...us!”

“What?” I replied, baffled. Sure enough, when I stared at the pictures, they held a lot of familiar figures: the Bounty, the Great Devourer, the Serpentine, the Ninja Tank...and us.

“Impossible,” Kai said, his tone full of shock. “It’s everything we’ve ever done.”

As we walked, I spotted a picture that looked like me and Lloyd as kids, surrounded by the Golden Weapons. I spotted another one of me riding the Ultra-Dragon, facing off against the Great Devourer. _How is this even possible?_ I wondered, so incredibly awestruck that my brain was beginning to hurt.

Cole pointed a few scenes out. “Finding the Bounty, facing the Devourer. Even right now!” He pointed at a picture right in front of us, which was almost a mirror image of the way we were standing together right now. It even had Cole pointing at it.

“How can it all be here?” Zane wondered.

Lloyd and I exchanged a knowing look. “Destiny,” we said together, sharing a smile.

He then spotted something else, and I followed his gaze to another section of the wall. This picture had such detailed pictures of us it was almost scary. It showed Jay, Cole, Kai, and Zane standing in a circle, surrounding two glowing figures in the center.

“I think I know what we need to do,” Lloyd announced.

We all walked to the center of the room. Lloyd bent down, brushing a thick layer of dust away underneath the bell to reveal a familiar symbol.

“Look,” he said, pointing.

I walked up and brushed away some dust next to him, finding another symbol next to the one he found. The others went to each of the four sides, finding four more symbols beneath the dust and a circle design just like the one on the wall. The four of them moved to their respective places with their symbols, and Lloyd and I both moved to the center.

“Okay...now what?” Lloyd wondered when nothing happened.

We all stood looking at each other, then suddenly heard the familiar shouting of Stone Warriors outside. I didn’t see any of them yet, but I knew they were near. _Come on. Think…_ I felt like the answer was right in front of us.

“Why does everything have to be so hard?” Cole grumbled.

Ignoring the warriors’ shouting, I looked around the room, trying to find a clue. _What did Lloyd’s mother say? Once the Green Ninja and Yellow Ninja find the instrument of peace, they will strike it…_ Instrument of peace. What was that? I looked around again, trying to find what she had been talking about. Then, I finally looked up, and it hit me. We had to strike the instrument of peace---and there was only one instrument in this temple.

“The instrument of peace!” I exclaimed, pointing up at the bell hanging above our heads.

The boys all responded with a confused “Huh?”

“The bell!” I explained, pointing at it. “It’s an instrument!”

Lloyd gasped. “Oh! I get it!” He looked around at each of the guys. “You guys ready for this?”

“Bring it!” Cole exclaimed.

Lloyd and I looked at each other, nodding. As always, we were of the same mind. The two of us turned and sprinted in opposite directions, each of us heading straight for a pillar. I picked up speed, then jumped, aiming my foot at the pillar. Once I reached it, I pushed off of it in the other direction, soaring upwards toward the outside of the bell. I saw Lloyd doing the same thing across from me. At the same moment, we both struck the bell, and a mighty clanging sound reverberated across the temple.

As the bell rang, Lloyd and I landed back underneath it. Once we landed, a bright, white light appeared from inside the bell, shining down upon the two of us.

“Holy unholy!” I shouted, squinting my eyes against the light’s glare.

“Whoa!” Lloyd exclaimed, moving over next to me. “What’s happening?”

“Something amazing!” I replied, smiling despite my shock. That warm feeling in my chest was now warmer than ever.

“No one move!” Zane shouted.

My shock and awe suddenly faded away, replaced only with the warmth that was stronger than ever...and also a comforting sense of peace. I suddenly felt more relaxed than I had felt in a while. I locked eyes with Lloyd again, knowing that he was feeling the same way. At the same time, we both reached for the other’s hand, staying connected as I closed my eyes, turning my head upward towards the light.

I wasn’t sure what happened after that, but I did hear the others gasp and make noises of surprise. The light behind my closed eyelids only seemed to grow brighter and brighter, and it bathed me in its warm glow. I felt an overwhelming sense of belonging, as if the universe was confirming that yes, this was where I was meant to be.

At one point, Lloyd and I were slowly lifted into the air by an unseen force, hovering off the ground beneath the bell. Our hands remained joined, even as our arms rose up as if to embrace the light shining upon us. Then, that same unseen force began spinning us around. My eyes still remained closed.

I eventually heard Kai shout to the others. “Guys! Send them your powers!”

A huge wave of power suddenly surged into me, and it felt indescribable. I suddenly felt as if I could do anything, as if I had boundless strength, limitless vitality, cool serenity, and a flame that would burn forever. I realized that this was Cole, Jay, Zane, and Kai, sending me and Lloyd their powers so that we could gain our own. In that moment, we all united as ninja, as a family---as one.

I heard a mighty roar, as if from a great dragon. After what felt like both an eternity and a moment, Lloyd and I stopped spinning, and the glorious light vanished. I fell, my eyes still closed when I hit the ground, feeling distorted.

“Lloyd! Aurora!” Kai shouted.

I groaned, pushing myself to my knees. I briefly looked down at myself, surprised to find that I was now wearing a brand-new ninja gi. It was still the same yellow as before, but with a lot more black this time, and complete with silver armor and highlights. My head whipped over to the entrance when I heard shouting, and saw that the Stone Warriors had finally arrived. _Uh oh!_

Lloyd pushed himself up, too. “Let ‘em have it!” he shouted to the others. He and I quickly stood up, getting into our ready stances as the warriors rushed inside.

“Now we get to fight!” Cole exclaimed in glee.

I watched the four of them fight, also clad in brand new ninja gis and welding swords that allowed them to use their elemental powers again. Kai used his fire to surround a bunch of them, Jay electrocuted his attackers with lightning, Zane froze his opponents in a pillar of ice, and Cole buried a group of them in a pile of earth. Seeing them so happy to have the use of their elements back made me grin.

Another wave of Stone Warriors walked into the temple, shouting incomprehensibly. Lloyd and I exchanged a grin, nodding in determination.

“Our turn,” I said.

Lloyd bowed slightly and made a welcoming gesture. “Ladies first.”

I giggled, happily running forward and stopping in front of the Stone Warriors. A new power surged within me, and I decided to let it loose. A light formed between my hands, and I released it, expecting it to just be a massive surge of yellow light like the other times. Instead, I was pleasantly shocked as a sparkling silver glow burst from my outstretched arms, expanding rapidly and creating a giant, blinding veil of light between me and the Stone Warriors. The warriors halted, cowering in fear as they were temporarily blinded by the brilliant, intense wall of light. It was much brighter and much more powerful than anything I had ever done with my elemental power of light before. I could not wipe the grin off my face.

_This is the Silver Lining!_ I realized, still in awe that this massive veil of silver was something that I had created. _It’s so amazing!_

Glancing behind me, I saw Lloyd summoning an orb of green energy. It grew larger and larger, then suddenly turned golden. The orb exploded, releasing a shimmering golden dragon. I watched in awe as it roared, flying through my silver light in a dazzling display and facing off against the Stone Warriors.

“Retreat!” the leader cried out, he and his warriors turning tail and running from the temple in fear.

When they left, the six of us cheered in triumph, celebrating our victory and all of our new powers. In a surge of glee, I ran to Lloyd, colliding with him in a hug. He laughed, hugging me back tightly. The others decided to make it a group hug and joined in, surrounding me and Lloyd as we all cheered, shouting joyful praises and exclamations of awe at our newfound powers.

_We did it,_ I thought. _We actually did it!_ The Stone Warriors may be indestructible, but we now had a defense against them. Tonight, we could celebrate this small victory against our enemies.

The final battle was near, and it would be our toughest fight yet---but somehow, I knew that we were going to win it.


	12. Episode 24: The Last Hope

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stop the clock, stop the battle. Can the final battle really be stopped before it ever starts?
> 
> Let's hope so.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: this chapter contains extremely fluffy fluff that will make some of you spontaneously combust. Read at your own risk.
> 
> Enjoy, my friends! Only three more chapters to go after this!  
> \------------------------

The next day, I felt less anxious than I had when we’d arrived. It was as if the new power inside me was filling me with hope and peace, easing all my worries. Plus, I could not get over how cool we all looked in our new ninja gear.

Early that morning, Kai, Jay, Cole, and Zane went out to, uh, “exercise their elements.” To me, that meant that they were going to go mess around and shoot things with their elemental powers. Honestly, I couldn’t really blame them; if I’d been deprived of my elemental power for so long, then I would probably do the same thing. 

I slept in that morning, physically and emotionally exhausted from yesterday’s events. When I woke up, I felt fully rested and refreshed. For a moment, I forgot that we were on a dangerous dark island full of Stone Warriors. Then I saw the view of sand piled outside my window as opposed to the sky that I was used to, and remembered where I was.

I quickly dressed and exited my room, yawning in content. Stepping over the piles of sand, I hopped off the bounty, finding a few of the others nearby. Nya was tinkering with the vehicle we’d built yesterday, and Lloyd was with Zane’s father at a table underneath an umbrella, watching him repair Zane’s falcon. I walked over to them, enjoying the feeling of the warm sunlight upon me.

Lloyd looked up, smiling when he spotted me. “Well, look who finally decided to wake up.”

I smirked as I approached him. “A girl’s gotta have her beauty sleep when she can,” I informed him playfully.

“I think Jay said the same thing the other day,” he told me.

I snorted in amusement. “Well, I guess he’s a girl, then.”

We both burst out laughing as I sat next to him at the table. After we calmed down, we both watched as Zane’s father continued to expertly repair the poor falcon. That mechanical bird had been through a lot, that was for sure.

“Every cog, every gear is important,” Zane’s father told us as he worked. “If one piece is missing, or out of place, the invention won’t work.” The falcon’s eyes glowed to life, and the bird flapped its wings as it stood on its own two feet again. I grinned, happy to see it working again. “Come now, little one,” Zane’s father encouraged the falcon as he finished. “Time to fly.”

The falcon flapped its wings, taking off and soaring into the sky. I was glad to see him back to his old self.

Sensei Wu then walked up to us, having returned from wherever he’d been. “It is like you ninja,” he told me and Lloyd. “You each serve very important roles, and are each key parts to a magnificent fighting force.”

Lloyd then frowned, looking troubled. “If we’re all gears, what if I’m the gear that doesn’t work?” he asked Sensei. “What if I don’t do my part? What if I can’t fight with Aurora and defeat my father?”

His words broke my heart. He was worried about facing his father because he didn’t _want_ to face him; he had never wanted to fight him, period. I knew that he was afraid of freezing up when the moment came, of not being able to do what had to be done. And honestly, who could blame him? He cared about his father a lot, and I knew for a fact that his father cared for him, too (if teaming up with his mortal enemies to save his son from Serpentine was any indication). But it was his destiny to fight his father--mine as well--and unfortunately, it would happen one day.

That didn’t make it any easier, I knew.

“What if there are no more ‘What ifs?’” Sensei replied. “The final battle is almost upon us. When that time comes, we will know the answer to what if, whether we like it or not.”

Nya then walked over to us. “I know you don’t want to face your father, but there is no other choice.”

“But perhaps there is,” Misako suddenly announced, walking into view with a scroll. “I used to think it was inevitable, but then I found this.” She set the scroll down on the table, unrolling it.

“You mean maybe Lloyd and Aurora don’t have to fight?” asked the voice of Cole. “This I gotta hear.” I looked up to see him and the rest of the ninja walking down the hill of sand that covered the Bounty. For some reason, they were all dressed in swimwear and beach clothes; I mentally facepalmed and decided not to ask.

Misako gestured down to her scroll. “The scrolls say that when the Helmet of Darkness is bequeathed to its rightful ruler, the Celestial Clock will count down to the activation of an unspeakable weapon. The first sign that the battle between good and evil has begun.”

“Did you just say unspeakable weapon?” Kai asked worriedly.

“Uh, I’m still stuck on what ‘bequeathed’ means,” Jay said.

“Go on, Misako,” Cole said as he and the others gathered with us. “Don’t let us interrupt you. How do we stop the final battle?”

“There is nothing here that explains what would happen if the Helmet of Darkness is returned,” Misako explained.

Sensei hummed. “Interesting. Remove the helmet, the clock starts. Put it back, the clock stops.”

“And the final battle never starts,” Lloyd finished, exchanging a smile with me as we discovered this new hope. If we could avoid the final battle altogether, then Lloyd and I would never have to fight his father.

_It kind of seems like a longshot,_ my less optimistic side told me. _But we’ll never know until we try it!_

“Bequeathed? Anyone?” Jay asked. “Is anyone going to help me out here with that?”

Sighing in annoyance, I craned my head around to look at him. “It means to pass something on to somebody else,” I quickly explained.

Jay looked dumbfounded. “You’re younger than I am, and even you knew what that meant?”

“I am younger, but I am smarter,” I stated, smugly smirking at him before turning back around. I heard him grumble to himself, making me inwardly laugh.

“That sounds great and all,” Kai said, “and I know we have our new powers, but you expect us to get past his whole army of Stone Warriors _and_ pluck the helmet off his head?”

Nya nodded in agreement. “My brother’s right. They’re good, but they’re not _that_ good.”

“I know,” Misako assured her. “And that is why _I_ am going to do it. I’ll just need a little help.” 

She gestured for the ninja to walk off the side so she could explain her plan to them. Lloyd and I were about to follow, only to be stopped by Sensei Wu once again.

“I’m sorry, you two,” he told us, lowering his staff in front of us. “This mission isn’t for you.”

Lloyd and I simultaneously groaned. _Not again…_

“But we’re all powered up,” Lloyd protested.

“We can help,” I added.

“We mustn't let the two of you and Lloyd’s father come face-to-face yet,” Sensei reminded us. “We’re trying to prevent the final battle, not welcome it.”

I hung my head in defeat, and Lloyd did, too. “Yes, Sensei,” we replied begrudgingly.

. . .

After wishing the ninja and Misako good luck and sending them on their way, I tried to find ways to cure my boredom until they returned. Nya only needed so much help fixing the vehicle, so that didn’t keep me occupied for long. Lloyd and I sparred a little bit, but again, that only entertained us for so long. Then, Lloyd suggested that we go for a walk---even though we couldn’t go too far. That sounded great to me, so he and I set off (after promising Sensei that we wouldn’t go looking for trouble).

Lloyd and I walked together down the beach where the ninja had been destroying things earlier that day. We joked, talked, and laughed about whatever came to mind. Spending quality time with him again of course reminded me of my growing feelings for him, and I tried not to speak or act any differently than I normally did. In addition, I could tell that something was bugging Lloyd---probably having to do with his father.

Once we crossed the beach, we came across a tree that had a perfect branch for sitting. Grinning like the child I was, I went over and climbed up the tree, plopping myself down on the branch, which had a perfect view of the ocean.

“What are you doing?” Lloyd asked, smiling up at me in amusement.

“Enjoying the view,” I replied simply.

He chuckled, and then he climbed up after me. When he arrived at my level, he motioned for me to scoot over to make room for him, and I tried not to blush as he sat down next to me. The branch wasn’t very long, so our arms were very close to touching.

I decided to let all my worries go for a moment and just let myself relax. I sighed in content as I stared out into the ocean’s wide expanse, letting the sound of its crashing waves soothe me. The view from up in this tree was definitely beautiful. In fact, if I just kept my gaze on the water and not on the jungle behind me, I could almost forget that we were on a dangerous, evil island.

A thought occurred to me, and I smiled. “This reminds me of another view,” I said, drawing Lloyd’s attention. I turned my head to give him a knowing look. “From the top of a treehouse in a forest.”

Lloyd chuckled, knowing exactly what I was talking about. “That feels like it was forever ago.”

“I know, right?” I agreed. It truly felt like it had been years since he and I first met, both only ten years old at the time---but in reality, it had only been mere months since then. So much had changed in so little time… 

After another minute of comfortable silence, I smiled again. “We should build another treehouse someday.”

“You want to?” Lloyd asked, seemingly as excited by the idea as I was.

I nodded. “Yeah! But…” I smirked. “This time, can we not use snakes to build it?”

Lloyd cringed, groaning as he put his head in his hands. I snickered at his reaction. “Why did you bring that up?” he asked me.

“Because it’s fun to tease you about it,” I replied, smirking like a brat.

Lloyd rolled his eyes good-naturedly, smiling despite his embarrassment. “You’ve gotta admit that it was a pretty cool treehouse,” he told me. “It’s kind of a shame that the ninja destroyed it…”

“They destroyed it because it was the fortress you were going to rule Ninjago from,” I reminded him.

“Oh. Right.”

The two of us laughed loudly, now realizing how absurd it had all been. Lloyd had gained complete control over the Hypnobrai, but instead of using them for truly evil acts, he’d made them steal candy and build him a treehouse instead. Of course, back then, it hadn’t really been a laughing matter---but now it was hilarious.

Lloyd and I descended into a comfortable silence once again. I briefly wondered where the ninja and Misako were now. Had they gotten the helmet yet? Knowing Garmadon and how tough the Stone Army was, the answer was probably no. I believed in them, though; I knew they could do it. However, that didn’t make the waiting any easier.

I glanced over at Lloyd, and found that he looked...troubled. He was hanging his head slightly, looking down at his lap and frowning in thought. I leaned over and lightly nudged him, giving him a small smile. “What’s with the face?” I asked him.

Lloyd glanced up at me, sighing before looking away again. “If putting the helmet back doesn’t work...then we’re gonna have to fight my father,” he said. “And...I don’t know if I _can_ .” He paused for a moment, then elaborated. “I know that it’s part of the prophecy, and that there’s no other choice, but...he’s still my father, Aurora. When the time comes and the final battle happens, what will stop me from freezing up? What if I can’t fight?” He met my gaze then, and the despondent look on his face broke my heart again. “The prophecy says that only both of us _together_ can defeat him. If I don’t do my part, then what will happen to Ninjago? What will happen to you if you’re the only one who’s fighting?” He shook his head, looking even more frustrated. “And even if I don’t mess up, then what will happen to my father if we beat him?”

My best friend groaned, burying his face in his hands. “No matter what happens, I… I’m stuck.”

I had clearly heard him earlier as he worried about being the part that didn’t work, but I hadn’t known it was bothering him _this_ badly. He and I had enough to fret about, and on top of that, he had to be constantly reminded that he had to fight his own father. _I have to boost his confidence,_ I resolved. _I have to make him believe in himself---the way that_ I _believe in him._

Putting a comforting hand on his arm, I began my speech. “Having to fight your own father is a terrible thing,” I agreed. “Heck, even I don’t wanna fight your father! Him being evil isn’t his fault, after all.” I scooched closer to him. “It’s true that the prophecy states that we have to fight him together---and that’s a scary thought. But do you know what else the prophecy says?” When Lloyd looked up at me in question, I gave him a smile. “It says that we _will_ defeat the dark lord. Not ‘might.’ Not ‘could.’ We _will_ . And better yet, the prophecy only says we’ll defeat the ‘dark lord.’ That doesn’t necessarily mean your father. It could only be talking about the Overlord, for all we know!” Well, that probably wasn’t the case, but I was choosing to be optimistic here. “Like Sensei just told us, we’ll only know what will happen when it’s already happening. And according to the prophecy, you and I _will_ triumph. We _will_ save Ninjago. And we _will_ kick major butt.” I had to grin after adding that last comment. “It’s set in stone, Lloyd.”

My words seemed to affect Lloyd, thankfully. His spirits seemed somewhat lifted, but he still looked unsure. After thinking about it for a long moment, he faced me again. “But...how do you really know that I can do it?”

I smiled at him sweetly. “Because I know _you_ , Lloyd Garmadon,” I replied confidently. “And you are by far the strongest, noblest, toughest, most kind-hearted guy I’ve ever met. If there’s anyone that can fulfill this destiny, then it’s you.”

My words made his smile slowly return, and I marked another tally in my personal victory column. In that fleeting, heartwarming moment, a part of me wanted to tell him how I felt about him more than anything. However, I…I still wasn't quite brave enough.

Instead, I found the bravery to do something else. Before I could chicken out, I leaned over to Lloyd’s face and softly pecked his cheek with my lips. For one blissful moment, everything was perfect. When I pulled away, his eyes were wide, and he was staring at me in surprise. The thing was, I couldn’t tell if it was a positive sort of surprise, or a negative one.

I didn’t give myself the chance to discover which option it was. When I suddenly felt an overwhelming sense of awkwardness, I just felt the need to escape the situation as quickly as possible. “Well, uh…” I smiled shyly, giggling uncertainly as the blushing returned, stronger than ever. “I’ll leave you to your thoughts. Besides, uh, Nya asked me for help earlier with something and I, uh...still haven’t done that. So…” That was a lie, but I couldn’t exactly think straight right now. “Later!” I quickly hopped off the branch--the fall was short enough that I could safely jump down--and immediately began walking away once I landed. Lloyd still didn’t say anything as I left, just watching me go with his still-utterly-surprised face. I could feel his gaze on me as I walked away.

_Later?! That’s all you could come up with?!_ I wanted to bang my head against a wall. It was like when Lloyd caught me after I tripped all over again---except worse. _Was that going too far? Or too forward? Did I cross any boundaries? Oh geez, I did NOT think this through!_ He already had enough to worry about; why did I have to go and do _that_ to him? I was stuck between beating myself up and applauding my sudden courage. I never thought I would work up the guts to do something like that so soon, but apparently I was braver than I felt. Despite my conflictions, I had to smile and internally squeal a little. _I kissed him on the cheek. I-I actually kissed him!_ My cheeks remained red the entire walk back to the Bounty.

I had to talk to Nya.

When I climbed over the hill of sand that concealed our camp, I spotted her finishing up the repairs on the drill vehicle. I slid down the hill, quickly walking over to her, trying to remain calm. “Um, Nya?” I said as I approached her. “I, uh… I need to tell you something.”

Nya threw the blowtorch that she’d been holding into her toolbox, smiling at me in greeting. “What’s up?”

I rubbed my arm. “It’s about, uh...that _thing_ we talked about...not too long ago…”

Nya soon realized what I meant, and her eyes widened. She looked around as if to confirm that nobody was within earshot, then whispered, “Let’s talk on the Bounty.”

I nodded, following her as she scooped up her toolbox and made her way to the buried ship. We stepped over all the sand and went up to the privacy of the bridge. Once we were both inside, Nya shut the door behind us, setting down her tools and facing me in excitement.

“So what happened?” she asked eagerly. “Did he do something? Did you tell him how you feel? Have you figured out if he likes you or not?”

Being bombarded with all her questions made me nervous. “Uh...not exactly.”

Nya looked confused, but gestured for me to go on.

I took a deep breath, then decided to just come out with it. “I may or may not have kissed his cheek just now,” I blurted out, feeling small amounts of pride when I said it.

Nya gasped, beaming at me. “No way! And then what happened?”

“Well…” I began sheepishly. “Nothing, really. I, uh… I left before he said anything.”

Nya’s smile fell from her face, replaced with another confused expression. “So… You just kissed him then walked off?”

“I just felt so awkward!” I exclaimed. “He looked so surprised after I kissed him, and I didn’t know whether it was the good kind of surprise or the bad kind! I-I think I was afraid to find out…” I groaned in frustration, burying my face in my hands. “I’m such an idiot. Why did I just up and leave? We were having a moment! A really, really nice moment! Heck, why did I even kiss him in the first place? The poor boy already has enough on his mind! He doesn’t need me adding to that list!”

“Calm down,” Nya told me, walking over and making a “chill out” gesture with her hands. “That’s a normal reaction to these sorts of situations. I might have even done the same if I was you. But hey, you took the first step to conquering your fear of rejection! I’m sure that everything will be okay.”

“Easy for you to say.” I sighed, hugging myself. “Maybe I should save this whole ‘Hey Lloyd, I’ve fallen in love with you’ thing until after the final battle. Lloyd and I would probably both be better off that way...”

Nya put a comforting hand on my shoulder. “It’s up to you,” she replied, smiling in reassurance. “The way I see it, the ball’s in his court now. You’ll just have to wait and see what happens next.”

I sighed again, wondering how I would face Lloyd after this. A part of me hoped that he didn’t even bring it up. Maybe he would think that it was just a friendly, encouraging gesture? Maybe our obligations would keep up from talking about it?

Or maybe I was overreacting way too much. Was I making a big deal out of nothing?

I was abruptly broken from my thoughts as the large monitor hanging on the wall came to life, a video image popping up on it. It was from the falcon. Nya and I turned to look at it, and were met with the sight of the ninja and Misako, running away through the forest from Lord Garmadon and his Stone Warriors.

“Uh oh,” I said, now very worried about the ninja.

“We have to tell the others!” Nya exclaimed. “Come on!”

She and I raced out of the bridge, scrambling out of the Bounty and back outside. We ran over to where Sensei Wu, Lloyd, and Zane’s father were talking. I made myself forget any lingering awkwardness I still felt and focus on the issue at hand.

“The ninja are in trouble!” I announced as Nya and I ran to them.

“The falcon spotted the ninja and Misako being attacked by Garmadon and the Stone Warriors!” Nya quickly explained.

“Did they have the helmet?” Sensei urgently asked.

Nya nodded in confirmation. “From what I could see, yes.”

“Then there’s no time to lose,” Sensei told us. “Nya, take the ninja’s vehicle and get them out of there. We will rendezvous with you all at the Celestial Clock.”

Nya nodded again. “On it!” she replied, hurrying over to the drill vehicle and hopping in.

Sensei then turned to me and Lloyd. “We need to hurry if we want to meet them at the clock in time,” he told us, grabbing his staff.

A thought then occurred to me, and I raised a hand before we could leave. “Wait a sec,” I interjected. I looked at Lloyd. “You and I should probably split up. That way, if one of us happens to run into your father, the final battle won’t start prematurely since we’re not both there.”

Lloyd seemed to agree with my idea. “Good thinking, Aurora,” he said. “You go with Sensei; I’ll go another way and meet you both up there.”

I nodded in agreement. “Be safe, Lloyd,” I told him, a little worried that he was going there on his own, but knowing that he could take perfectly good care of himself.

My best friend gave me a reassuring smile. “You too,” he replied, before pulling on his gi mask and running off into the dark forest.

After pulling on my own mask, Sensei Wu and I picked another direction and set off as well. Sensei seemed to know where this Celestial Clock was somehow, so I followed him and watched his back. I stayed on high alert as we scurried through the trees, almost sure that we would run into a patrol of Stone Warriors---or worse, Lord Garmadon.

Thankfully, we had no such bad luck. I realized that most, if not all, of the island’s forces were probably occupied with chasing down the ninja. Sensei Wu and I soon reached the cliffs where the foreboding Celestial Clock resided, quickly scaling them and making it to the top. The clock was unlike anything I’d ever seen---huge, ornate, and a wee bit excessive for my tastes. I could hear as the seconds ticked by ominously, filling me with a cold sense of dread as the big hand on it slowly moved closer and closer to its end point.

As Sensei Wu waited patiently, I couldn’t stand still because I was so anxious. I refrained from pacing around, but I still fidgeted nervously and looked in all directions for the others. As patient and calm as he was, even Sensei grew a little antsy after a while. The sky grew steadily darker, and ominous clouds gathered overhead.

Finally, the ground rumbled, and a familiar drill poked out of the rock nearby. I was relieved to see that everyone was inside the vehicle, safe and sound---including Lloyd.

“Wow,” I heard Nya gasp from the driver’s seat as they pulled up. “This clock is a mechanical masterpiece.”

All of them hopped out of the vehicle, walking towards the clock. I spotted Lloyd, but was confused to see him looking troubled again. I went over to him to see what was the matter.

“Hey. What happened?” I asked in a soft voice.

Lloyd sighed, looking down at his hands. “I had a chance to take a shot at my father, but...I froze up, just like I said I would.”

Oh. I was afraid that he might run into his father. I wanted to hug him, but instead I just put a comforting hand on his back. “Oh, Lloyd. It’s okay. No one blames you for that,” I assured him.

He didn’t look so certain, but unfortunately we didn’t have any more time to talk about it right now. Everyone went up to the giant clock, Misako running over with the Helmet of Shadows in hand.

“You’re welcome to dismantle it once we stop it,” she told Nya.

“There’s only a couple minutes left!” Jay pointed out frantically.

“Everyone, look for the helmet’s perch!” Misako ordered. “It could be anywhere!”

I quickly stepped onto the rotating clock with the others, looking everywhere for a spot that might look like a perch for a helmet.

“You don’t know how to return the helmet?” Sensei asked her.

“It has a resting place somewhere,” Misako reassured him. She tried placing it on one of the rotating pieces on the base, but the ticking didn’t stop. “Oh, that didn’t work…” She then climbed up the clock, navigating across its rotating pieces and placing it in another spot that didn’t work.

“Perhaps I’ve found the perch!” Zane shouted at her from the ground. Misako threw the helmet down to him, and he placed it on one of the unnecessary rotating parts. “No. Wrong place.”

The clock kept ticking away, and I frantically scurried around the clock, trying to find its perch. _Where is it?!_ I decided to take a page from Misako’s book, and started climbing up the giant clock, examining every odd piece that looked like a helmet perch.

Jay jumped up and down, pointing at a spot. “Ooh! What about here?”

Zane tossed the helmet to him, and Jay flipped up onto the clock, placing the helmet on a spherical piece. Still no luck.

“Could this be the place?” Sensei wondered from below, pointing.

Jay threw the helmet down to him. Before Sensei could catch it, however, the Stone Warrior general came out of nowhere, shoving Sensei Wu to the side and catching the helmet instead. Everyone simultaneously gasped, and Misako hopped off the clock and ran over to Sensei.

“No!” Jay yelled.

A large group of Stone Warriors gathered behind their general, a few of their strange-looking vehicles driving up behind them to cut off our easy escape. “There’s only thirty seconds left,” the Stone Warrior general boasted. “I believe it’s time to die---!”

Not paying attention, a long piece of the clock came around and knocked the helmet from his hands.

“No!” he shouted in fury.

The helmet bounced upward, clanging off of the clock’s rotating parts and eventually stopping at the tippy top of the clock. Fortunately, I still happened to be on the clock. Immediately, I sprang into action, climbing up as fast as I could. A Stone Warrior ran over and started climbing up the clock, too.

Lloyd cheered me on. “Go, Aurora, go!”

“Don’t let them get the helmet!” Misako shouted up at me.

_Believe me, they’re not getting anything!_ I swung across a gap, landing safely on the other side. I then climbed as fast as I could, and eventually flipped up to the top, using the few acrobatic skills I’d learned. I snatched the helmet off the top, whooping in triumph, but the Stone Warrior wasn’t far behind me. He leapt onto the top of the clock, only to be met with my foot in his face kicking him off. “Sorry! Finders keepers!” I shouted as he fell back down to the ground.

Once I had the helmet in hand, I swept my gaze over the clock again, desperately searching for---

“The helmet’s perch!” Misako exclaimed from down below, pointing to a spot near the base of the clock.

My head snapped downward, immediately spotting the place she was talking about. I wanted to facepalm at how obvious it looked now; that was really the only place on this whole crazy contraption that looked like a perch of any kind.

“There’s only ten seconds left!” Sensei Wu shouted. “Hurry, Aurora!”  
  


It was a race against the clock--literally--and I knew I had no time to waste. I forgot about climbing down and just leapt off the top of the clock, landing on my feet on the ground. I kicked my legs into overdrive, sprinting as fast as I possibly could for the perch. The Stone Warriors tried to get in my way, but the ninja fought them off and held them back. One broke away and leapt in front of me, but instead of stopping, I flipped over his head, landing behind him right in front of the perch, setting the helmet down upon it right before the clock’s final tick.

Immediately, the entire clock came to a standstill. The moving parts stopped moving, and the whole thing seemed to shut down. I let out a breath I hadn’t even known I was holding. _Yes! Yes yes yes!_

“No!” the Stone Warrior general shouted in fury.

“It worked!” Lloyd cheered loudly, relieved as well.

“We did it!” Nya exclaimed, jumping for joy and hugging Kai.

A grin spread across my face, and I walked back over to where everyone stood. They all cheered and celebrated our victory. Lloyd grabbed me and pulled me into a hug, while Cole gleefully ruffled my hair. I laughed, making halfhearted attempts to swat his hands away as I hugged Lloyd back. Jay and Zane high-fived, and Misako and Sensei Wu smiled at each other. For one long moment, we had won the day.

Then the clock started moving again.

My smile immediately faded, and I stood in shock as I watched the accursed Celestial Clock reactivate. Loud, mighty horns blared from it as the countdown came to an end, making a cold stone of terror form in the pit of my stomach. 

“No,” Sensei gasped.

The Stone Warrior general cackled in triumph.

“The Horns of Destruction,” Misako exclaimed. “We were too late!”

I shook my head in disbelief. _But… But we stopped it!_ I wanted to protest. _I put the helmet back in time!_ Or...had I? Had I been a second too late? Was this my fault?

A beam of orange light was released from the center of the clock, zigzagging around and connecting to other parts of the clock. It formed a web of sorts around the structure, then finally ended at a magnifier at the top, shooting off down somewhere into the forest below.

While we watched the clock, the Stone Warriors backed us all up toward the edge of the cliff. Everyone crowded close together, ready to defend ourselves. Kai, Jay, Cole, and Zane leapt in front of the rest of us, unsheathing their elemental swords.

That was when the piece of cliff we were all standing on suddenly broke away, crumbling off of the rest of the mountain. To my horror, I saw that Nya was still on the top, and she screamed as she watched us fall.

“Nya!” Jay shouted.

“Jay!” Nya cried out.

“Sis!” Kai yelled, trying to reach for her.

The Stone Warrior general grabbed Nya from behind, restraining her.

“No!” I exclaimed.

“Let her go!” Jay demanded.

“Or what?” the general growled in what sounded like amusement. “You will make a big splash?”

The cliff crumbled beneath us again, making me almost lose my balance.

“The ground!” Cole yelled in terror.

That was when the crumbling section of the cliff broke away completely, falling down, down, down to the water far below and taking us with it. We all fell away from the cliff, plummeting down into the water as we all screamed. 

I crashed into the ocean water, sinking like a stone. I was distorted for a moment, and panicked as I didn’t know which way was up. Forcing my eyes open, I saw a few other figures close by, heading the direction that was upward. I quickly moved myself so that I was upright, then swam for the surface as fast as I could. I reached it before I ran out of air, bursting from the water and gasping as I breathed again. After coughing a bit, I looked over to the shoreline, seeing the others gathering there. I swam over to them, trying to catch my breath as I went. When I reached the sand, Kai immediately walked over and helped me out of the water. I let him heave me to my feet, giving him a reassuring look to let him know I was okay.

Lloyd wasn’t too far behind me, and he was the last one out of the water. I was relieved that he and everyone else was okay… Well, except for Nya…

I heard a scream, and my head shot upward. At the top of the cliff, I saw all the Stone Warriors, still holding Nya hostage as they dragged her out of sight. I sighed in despair. _This can’t be happening…_

“This is all my fault,” Lloyd exclaimed. “I should’ve taken the shot.”

I quickly shook my head. “No, this is my fault,” I stated. “I didn’t put the helmet back fast enough…” I hung my head in shame, feeling defeated and guilty.

Cole walked over to me and Lloyd, placing his hands on our shoulders. “We’re all at fault, kids,” he reassured us. “It’s just the way the cookie crumbled.”

That was when Jay snapped. “Are you still making jokes?! They have Nya, and you’re MAKING JOKES?!” He leapt at Cole, angrily tackling him to the ground.

“It was just a poor choice of words!” Cole defended, sounding apologetic.

“Enough!” Sensei Wu shouted, before Jay could go too far. “We have lost enough. We don’t need to lose our focus.”

“Forget focus,” Kai snapped, pointing upward. “We have to get my sister!”

Misako sighed. “By the time we get back up there, they’ll be gone. We will get your sister, but the clock has reached zero, and the final battle could start at any moment.” She looked at Lloyd, and the others moved away so she could face him. “We must head back to the Bounty to get prepared, so that next time, you will not hesitate.”

Lloyd frowned, looking more guilty than ever. He nodded at his mother’s words, hanging his head and staring at the ground. I hated seeing him like this.

Sensei put a hand on his shoulder and started leading him away. “Come on, Lloyd. Let’s go home. You will get your chance.”

We all began walking back toward where our camp resided, every one of us feeling defeated. I noticed that Jay lagged behind, staring up at the cliffs with a worried look on his face. I backtracked a little, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder.

“Nya’s strong, Jay,” I reminded him, smiling in reassurance. “She’ll be fine. We’ll get her back.”

Jay gave me a despondent look, then sighed, making a small nod. The two of us caught up with the others, heading back toward the Bounty in silent defeat.

Next time, things would be different; I was sure of it.


	13. Episode 25: Return of the Overlord

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The balance has shifted. The Overlord has returned.
> 
> The time of the final battle is upon us. Everything has led up to this.
> 
> It's now or never.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Are we at the season finale already?! AAAAAAA I'm so excited I can hardly contain myself! The final battle is here! I've been waiting to post these last chapters for SO long! I know that the waiting has been was worse for you guys than for me, and I thank you for being so patient! I can't believe that this book is almost at its end!
> 
> As always, leave a comment if you like, and please enjoy!  
> \-------------------------

The terrible sound of the Horns of Destruction was still ringing across the entire island as we all made our way back to the Destiny’s Bounty. It wasn’t helping my feelings of dread and defeat at all. Everyone followed Sensei Wu as we snuck our way through the dark jungle, wanting to get back as quickly as possible but also taking caution to not run into any Stone Warrior patrols.

The sky was still ominously dark by the time we arrived at the beach, where we found Zane’s father pacing worriedly. He turned to us as we approached him. “What was that sound? The horns?”

“The Celestial Clock has reached zero,” Sensei informed him grimly. “Garmadon’s Ultimate Weapon is now operational, and the final battle between good and evil has all but begun.”

“Now Lloyd and Aurora must face Garmadon,” Misako added.

I looked down, taking a deep breath to clear my head for a moment, pulling off my gi mask. After all this time of waiting and training for the final battle, it was hard to believe that it was now actually happening. Lloyd and I were all trained and powered up, but...were we truly ready?

_I guess we’ll have to be._

I saw Lloyd hang his head from the corner of my eye, looking sad. I placed a comforting hand on his shoulder, giving him a look that would hopefully remind him of what I had told him earlier.

“But where’s Nya?” Zane’s father asked.

Jay frowned, and Kai laid a hand on his shoulder.

“She’s been taken by the Overlord,” Sensei Wu replied, “but we’ll get her back. At the moment, there are bigger things at stake, including all of Ninjago itself.”

Jay growled. “Who cares about Ninjago?!” he exclaimed, wrenching his mask off. “Nya was my… Uh, my… You know.”

“And she is my sister,” Kai added, pulling off his own mask and putting his hand back on Jay’s shoulder. “I know her being captured is tough, but she’s tougher. Tougher than most of us. We’ll see her again.”

Sensei turned around to face me and Lloyd. “Lloyd, your focus gives strength to invoking the power of the Golden Dragon. Aurora, your hope and determination invoke the power of the Silver Lining. Both of you cannot lose faith now. Everything rests on your shoulders.”

I nodded confidently, banishing any fear or feelings of defeat I had left. Things would definitely be getting a lot harder and impossible from here on out, but I knew what I had to do. _Don’t lose faith now. You’ve got this. You’re the Yellow Ninja._

Lloyd sighed. “But, Sensei, you saw what happened when I tried to face my father. I...froze. I can’t fight him.”

“You must,” his uncle told him. “It is written in the scrolls.”

Misako walked up to him, placing a hand on his back. “Remember, your father is just as scared.”

“Then the battle will be decided by who is willing to fight,” Sensei proclaimed.

When Lloyd still looked unsure, I grabbed his hand, hoping to lift his spirits like I had so many other times. “Lloyd, remember what I said before. We can _do_ this. As long as we’re together, we can overcome anything. It’s written in our destiny.”

My words evoked a small, hopeful smile from him, and that made me smile in return. Kai then walked over to us, unsheathing his sword of fire.

“You won’t be alone,” he assured the two of us, pulling his mask on again. “I’ll be right behind you both. You have my fire.”

Cole followed his lead, taking out his own elemental sword and walking over to us. “You have my earth.”

Then Zane walked over with his sword. “And my ice.”

And finally, Jay came over with his sword. “And lightning.”

Sensei put his hand on my back, and Misako put her hand on Lloyd’s back. I smiled gratefully at our four ninja protectors--my four brothers--feeling warm and fuzzy on the inside again. Or maybe that was because I was still holding Lloyd’s hand.

“We’re all in this together, kids,” Cole told us.

Lloyd’s small smile turned into a full-on grin of determination. He let go of my hand, pulling on his mask. “What are we waiting for?” he asked everyone. “Let’s suit up!”

There was a short period of time where everyone prepared for the big battle ahead. Sensei and Misako grabbed what weapons they had, ready for a fight. Kai practiced with his elemental sword to get all fired up. Zane’s father helped his son oil his circuits, making sure that he was all ready to go. Cole did a few practice swings with his earth sword. I caught Jay fondly gazing at a photo he had of him and Nya at Mega Monster Amusement Park.

And Lloyd and I, we took a moment to clear our heads and become one with the power blazing inside of us. Once we both found our inner peace, we exchanged a determined nod.

“You ready for this?” Lloyd asked me.

I smirked at him. “Born that way.”

And with that, we were off. All nine of us charged into the jungle, making a beeline for Lord Garmadon’s campsite. Lloyd and I led the charge as we sprinted and flipped through the trees, our previous failures forgotten. This time, we were determined to win.

We approached the gate of the camp. Once it came into view, Lloyd immediately sank down onto his knees. “Get down. Now,” he whispered.

The others and I did so, ducking low and keeping our gazes on the closed gate as we huddled together.

“They won’t know what hit them,” Kai stated.

“Time to chop wood,” Jay quipped.

I smirked beneath my mask. “And time for some payback.” I looked to Lloyd, ready to move when he was.

“Let’s do this,” he finally said.

Leaping up on our feet, everybody charged straight for the gate doors. Our voices rose in a unified chorus of “Ninja, go!” as we crashed through the tall gate and into the camp. I was ready to leap into action in an instant, only…

Not a single soul was there to greet us.

The entire camp was abandoned. Desolate, even. The structures and buildings were still there, but there wasn’t a single Stone Warrior in sight. It was like a ghost town. Seeing all of them gone worried me immensely.

“Uh, where the heck is everybody?” Jay asked the question on all our minds.

Cole groaned. “And here I was all ready to release the thunder.”

“The Ultimate Weapon is gone,” Kai pointed out. “We’re too late.”

I stepped forward, pulling my mask off and heading toward the wooden bridge. “There’s gotta be something still here...”

The others followed me as I made my way across the shaky bridge and into the abandoned camp.

“Nya?” Kai called, hoping that his sister would be here. “Nya!”

As we walked into the heart of the camp, we heard a familiar screeching. It was Zane’s falcon, swooping down from above and gliding over us in another direction.

“My falcon friend wants to show us something,” Zane announced.

We all followed the falcon to the other side of the camp. There, we found a section of the wall that had been smashed open carelessly. Deep tracks from what looked like giant tires ran through the hole in the wall, and out into the forest. Something big had driven out of here---and I had a sinking feeling that I knew what it had been.

“Whoa,” Lloyd gasped when we spotted the trampled plants and trees on the other side of the wall. “That’s one big weapon.”

I gulped. “I’ll say…”

“It appears to be heading toward the coast,” Zane pointed out.

Lloyd frowned. “But why? Wouldn’t he try to use it on us?”

He was right. Why _would_ they head for the coast? It wasn’t even in the direction our camp was in. _The only other reason they would want to go to the ocean is if they wanted to---_

Oh crap.

I gasped when I realized what their plan was, and I turned to Lloyd. “H-He’s heading for Ninjago.”

Sensei walked up to us. “I’m afraid you're right,” he told me. “He always wanted to turn our world into his own image. Now we know how it will be done.”

“But if he starts turning things evil, the balance will shift and allow the Overlord to cross over into our world,” Misako said.

“Then we have to make sure that my father never fires that weapon,” Lloyd resolved.

He sprinted into the forest, and I was right behind him. Everybody else followed closely, but Zane’s father lagged behind, pausing to take a breath.

“Father!” Zane exclaimed in worry, making us all stop and turn around.

Zane’s father was panting heavily. “You go on without me,” he told us. “I’m an inventor, not a fighter. I’ll only get in the way.”

“But what will you do?” Zane asked in concern.

“I’ll be back at the Bounty, waiting for you to return in one piece.” Zane’s father smiled at his son in reassurance, placing a hand on his shoulder. “But don’t worry; a part of me will always be with you.”

Zane smiled at him. “Be well, Father,” he said, as the falcon landed on his arm.

“Be safe,” his father told Zane as he ran back over to rejoin us.

Zane waved goodbye to his father, and then we resumed our mad dash once more, hurrying through the forest. The falcon flew up above us, ever our eye in the sky. The path was clear--the weapon had left many fallen trees in its wake--so all we had to do was catch up in time.

After running in silence for a few minutes, Jay spoke up. “Um...is anyone else thinking about how this might be our final fight together?”

“Uh huh,” I admitted softly.

“Yeah,” Kai agreed.

“Of course,” Zane said.

“It’s _all_ I’ve been thinking about,” Cole admitted.

Kai nodded. “We’ve come a long way. It wasn’t that long ago when Sensei first found us.”

Jay then chuckled, seemingly remembering something. “Hey, you remember that time Kai thought he was the Green or Yellow Ninja?”

Everybody burst out laughing at that. That felt like a lifetime ago. Laughing and reminiscing like this made me forget about the dire situation we were in now.

“That was quite the memory,” Zane stated fondly.

“He was so not,” Cole said.

“More like so obsessed,” I added, remembering how crazy Kai had acted just to prove that he was one of the two ninja of legend. He tried to retrieve a Fangblade from an active volcano, for heaven’s sake!

Zane came up with another memory. “Or what about when the Hypnobrai hypnotized Cole---and we had to fight him!”

We all laughed loudly again. I hadn’t seen that happen for myself, but the ninja had told me the story.

“We should’ve just kicked his butt,” Kai joked.

Lloyd chuckled. He nudged me, smirking, then said to the others, “You _had_ to destroy our treehouse.”

“Yeah, guys,” I added. “That was so not cool.”

The guys all chuckled at our comments.

That was when I thought of another hilarious memory. “Ooh! Or when Zane became the pink ninja!”

Everyone nearly split their sides at that one, laughing loudly. It was hard to keep running with all this laughter going around.

Zane chuckled in amusement, able to laugh about the memory now that the embarrassment of it was over. “Or how about that time Sensei came out of the guts of the Devourer’s belly…”

We all made noises of extreme disgust as we remembered.

“...drinking tea!” Zane finished.

I gagged. “Oh, that was so gross!”

“Yeah! I thought he was a goner,” Jay said.

Sensei Wu whacked Jay on the head from behind. “Wrong again, Mr. Emptyhead.”

Everyone burst out laughing again, even Sensei.

Suddenly, a dark figure raced past us, and everyone ground to a halt. The smiles and laughter were forgotten, and we were now on high alert.

“Whoa,” Kai gasped.

“Something is wrong here,” Cole murmured.

“Where? Where?” Jay asked fearfully.

Kai frowned. “Did I just see…”

A twig snapped loudly, startling everybody.

“I sense an evil presence,” Zane announced.

“Where? Where?” Jay asked again.

Sensei gasped, pointing up. “Above us!”

I looked up at the trees with everyone else. I scanned the branches and leaves, and thought I saw something move at one point, but it was gone before I could make out what it was.

Suddenly, something struck Cole. “Ow, my jaw!” he grumbled. ‘That hurt!”

There was a bright flash of red, and I was shocked to see a sparkling red vortex of Spinjitzu circling us. I was too busy wondering _who the heck this was_ that I wasn’t ready for when the spinning vortex knocked me over.

“Ouch…” I grumbled.

Kai growled, pointing at the attacker. “No one does that to the Yellow Ninja!”

As I quickly leapt to my feet again, the attacker stopped doing Spinjitzu. The red vortex disappeared, revealing...Nya?!

“Nya!” Jay shouted, reaching for her.

Sensei held him back. “That is no longer Nya,” he told him.

I realized that he was right. Nya’s skin had darkened to gray, and her eyes were now a glowing, solid purple. Her expression was one of pure hatred and evil. She snarled at us menacingly, and my heart sank at the sight of her. So much for her being okay…

“What did he do to my sister?!” Kai growled.

“He must have used the Ultimate Weapon to turn her into his own evil image,” Misako explained.

“Garmadon must have sent her to slow us down,” Sensei pointed out. “We have to stop them from firing that weapon.”

“What are we supposed to do?” Cole asked. “Use our elemental powers on her?”

“No!” Jay immediately protested. “I don’t want to hurt her!”

Kai nodded. “Jay’s right. We just have to find a way to keep her from---”

Nya decided to cut him off, swinging the mace she was carrying and whacking her brother right in the face. Kai fell onto his back, dazed.

“---hurting us,” he finished pointlessly.

“Well, we should think of something, before Garmadon fires that weapon,” Zane stated.

Cole turned back to us. “Aurora, Lloyd, you go on up ahead with Sensei and Misako while we take care of Nya.”

I protested, not wanting to leave them to fight alone. “Are you sure, Cole? Should we really split up?”

“You said you’d always be behind us,” Lloyd reminded him.

“We will be,” Kai promised. “We’ll catch up as soon as we can.”

Jay used his Spinjitzu to try and get close to Nya, going the long way around. He ended up getting hit in the stomach with Nya’s mace, groaning in pain. He then grabbed the end of the mace, invoking a tug-of-war with Nya.

“The ninja are right,” Sensei told us. “We must go.”

“We’ll still be behind you both,” Misako assured us.

Lloyd and I reluctantly started running again, past the ninja and Nya. Sensei and Misako were right behind us the whole way as we followed the trail once again, determined to reach Lord Garmadon before he could fire his newest weapon of destruction.

We didn’t have much farther to go. I soon smelled sea salt in the air, and the huge bulk of the Ultimate Weapon appeared through the trees. Thankfully, it hadn’t fired anything yet. But as we drew nearer, we spotted Lord Garmadon at the weapon’s helm, about to fire the weapon for the first time.

“Father, don’t!” Lloyd yelled at him.

Hearing his son, Lord Garmadon stopped, turning around to see the four of us burst from the treeline, running onto the beach and stopping behind the giant weapon.

I heard a scratchy, distorted voice protest from overhead. “What are you doing?” it asked. “Push the button!” It was the Overlord---no doubt about it. A voice that scary couldn’t belong to anyone else.

Lord Garmadon stared down at us, frowning. “So, the balance has sent my son, his friend, my brother, and wife to try to stop me? It looks like my little surprise has kept the ninja busy.”

“Don’t do it!” Misako pleaded with him. “If you alter the balance, it will allow the Overlord to cross over.”

“The balance will be destroyed, and we will _all_ pay dearly,” Sensei Wu added.

The Overlord’s spirit growled. “Don’t listen to them! They betrayed you.”

Lloyd then stepped forward. “I don’t want to fight you,” he proclaimed, “but I will if I have to.”

I stepped up beside him. “The same goes for me,” I told him. Then, remembering my experiences with the Serpentine, I added, “Besides, how do you know that the Overlord won’t just betray you in the end?”

“This is about more than just us,” Lloyd told his father. “This is about what is right.”

Lord Garmadon remained silent for a moment, then growled. “Don't you see?! I will _never_ do what is right! The evil in my blood can never go away. It has corrupted every ounce of my fiber, every bone in my body. I am Lord Garmadon! Destiny took my family from me, and the only way for us to be together is to turn everything in this world into my image! Then you’ll all see what I see, feel what I feel.”

“It is not too late,” Misako told him. “We can---”

“No!” Lord Garmadon cut her off. “You’ve made your decision, and I have made mine.” Before any of us could stop him, he spun around and pressed the button to fire the weapon.

“No!” we all shouted, running forward.

An automated voice spoke from the Ultimate Weapon. “ _Garmatron warming up. In T-minus… Twenty…"_

I let out a breath of relief. There was still time.

“Warming up?!” Lord Garmadon echoed angrily. “You could’ve warned me it had to warm up!”

“How could I?” the Overlord replied. “You were monologuing.”

If the situation weren’t so dire, I would’ve laughed.

The weapon continued to count out loud, slowly warming up for destruction…

“We have to get to the top and shut it off!” Lloyd stated, pointing at it.

I nodded. “Right behind you!”

Lord Garmadon turned to the Stone Warrior general. “Stop them!” he ordered.

General Kozu--that was his name, I now knew--hopped off the weapon, approaching us with his Stone Army. They growled and shouted at us incomprehensibly, and I readied myself for a fight. The Ultimate Weapon fired one of its smaller ion cannons at me and Lloyd, but Misako leapt in front of us, blocking the blasts with her scroll container.

“Go!” she urged us.

The two of us nodded, sprinting past her and heading for the Ultimate Weapon. After taking a running start, we leapt high into the air, soaring right for the helm of the weapon where Lord Garmadon was. When we landed on the platform, Lord Garmadon turned around to face us, clearly very frustrated.

“No!” he growled.

Lloyd turned to me quickly. “Stop the countdown. I’ll deal with my father,” he told me.

Nodding, I waited until Lloyd engaged Lord Garmadon, then ran around them toward the controls. With Garmadon occupied, I had a clear shot at deactivating the weapon.

Or so I thought.

Just as I was about to reach the big red button, General Kozu came out of nowhere. He knocked me aside, making me slam into the side of the platform. I quickly recovered, trying to fight past him to reach the control panel, but he swiftly knocked me down. I crashed onto my back, and he pinned me to the ground.

“Got you!” he growled in triumph.

Even when I struggled as hard as I could, kicking and screaming, I couldn’t break free from his grip. “Let go of me, blockhead!” I yelled at him to no avail.

“ _Three… Two… One..._ ” The weapon’s countdown reached zero, finishing its warm-up. Then, it fired. I watched helplessly as a dark missile surrounded by inky smoke erupted from the cannon, arcing upward and flying through the air---heading straight for Ninjago.

“No!” I cried out in terror.

“We’re losing,” I heard Lloyd mutter in disbelief.

Lord Garmadon cackled madly at our horrified expressions. “I...WIN!” He laughed loudly and maniacally, like it was all some sort of hilarious joke.

The balance had been shifted. We were too late... _again_.

“Again!” the voice of the Overlord demanded.

“Again!” Lord Garmadon ordered his troops.

The Stone Warriors began loading up the weapon to fire again. While General Kozu held me down with his foot on my chest, he picked up Lloyd, lifting my best friend into the air as he struggled. I tried to break free as well, but even with the use of my arms and legs, I could not move the stupid general’s foot from my chest; I was quite literally being crushed by a rock. It was actually starting to hurt really bad...

Then, I heard Sensei Wu shout to us. “Lloyd, Aurora, you both must focus and put a stop to this!”

He was right. We couldn’t give up now, even if all odds seemed against us. We could still stop this!

I saw Lloyd stop struggling. Instead, he closed his eyes and focused, then unleashed a bright pillar of green energy. It lifted him into the air, out of General Kozu’s hands. It also made the Stone Warrior stumble off of me, making me cry out in relief as the pressure on my chest was lifted.

Before I could summon my own power and join Lloyd, Lord Garmadon pulled a switch. It opened a trapdoor beneath us, and sent me, Lloyd, and General Kozu down into the weapon. We slid through a short tunnel and were deposited outside the weapon, landing hard on the sandy beach. I groaned as I landed on my already-aching chest.

“You think you can stop me?” Lord Garmadon growled at us. He turned around and fired the weapon again, launching another missile into the sky.

“Our worst fears…” I heard Sensei utter nearby, sounding defeated.

Despite feeling so defeated already, I knew that I had to get up and do something. Pushing through the pain, I slowly stood up again. Lloyd did the same next to me, and Sensei and Misako came over to help us out. The Overlord cackled evilly, enjoying every moment of his victory.

“We tried,” Lloyd told them sadly.

“I know,” Sensei Wu assured us.

“It is done,” Misako stated. “The balance has shifted.”

I furrowed my eyebrows. “T-There’s gotta be something we can do…” There was always a way out. Always a reason to never quit.

The clouds overhead grew darker than before--if that were possible--and began swirling over where Lord Garmadon was. Purple flashes of lightning glowed inside the clouds, and the Overlord was still laughing the entire time. It was like he knew something the rest of us didn’t…

“Stop laughing now!” Lord Garmadon ordered him. I guess I wasn’t the only one tired of the laughter. “This is _my_ victory! What’s happening?”

The Overlord finally stopped laughing and answered him. “You’ve helped offset the balance. Because of you, I can now cross over into your world. I’m finally free!”

Uh oh. This was going from bad to worse really fast.

“Wait a minute!” Lord Garmadon interjected. “You stole that from my playbook! You can forget about it! Ninjago is _mine_!”

“No,” the Overlord stated. “It was never going to be yours. It. Is. Mine.”

I took a moment to sigh, shaking my head in disappointment. “Called it,” I said softly. Every time, I tried to warn people that they were going to be betrayed in the end. But did they ever listen? No!

A blinding pillar of ghostly white light shot down from the clouds in the sky, right where Lord Garmadon and the Overlord’s spirit were. The pillar stirred up the air around it, making leaves and sand swirl around it in the wind. Shielding my eyes against the glare, I heard Lord Garmadon screech in pain. _What the heck is happening?!_

That was when Kai, Jay, Cole, and Zane showed up, running out of the forest to gather behind us.

“Sorry we’re late,” Jay said nonchalantly. “Did we miss much?” He then finally spotted what was going on in front of us. “Holy unholy!”

I watched in horror as Lord Garmadon began to...change. Through the pillar of light, I could see his figure start to morph into something else.

“What is happening to me?!” I heard him exclaim.

Jay whimpered. “Are you scared? _I’m_ scared!”

Oh, yeah. I was definitely scared now.

“S-Something is very wrong here!” Garmadon shouted as he continued to transform.

“The metamorphosis has begun!” the Overlord exclaimed in triumph, his voice sounding much deeper and less distorted than before.

“Metamorphosis?” Kai echoed worriedly. “What does that mean?!”

“Metamorphosis is a biological process by which someone or something changes into something new,” Zane quickly explained.

“Yeah, changes into something ugly,” Cole added.

That was when I realized that Lord Garmadon wasn’t just transforming into something else; he was transforming into the Overlord himself. All this time, the Overlord had just been using him so that he could walk in a physical form once again. _No…_

“Father…” Lloyd gasped, outstretching a hand toward his father.

Sensei Wu immediately pushed his hand down. “No, Lloyd. That is no longer your father.”

I put a comforting hand on his back. “I’m so sorry…” Not even Lord Garmadon deserved a fate such as this.

“But what about the prophecy?” Lloyd asked. “It said we had to face my father.”

“You still must,” Misako confirmed, “but now the Overlord has possessed him. Unlike your father, the Overlord will show you no mercy.”

I gasped in realization. _I was right?_ The prophecy said that we would defeat the dark lord---it had never specifically said that it would be Lloyd’s father, as I had mentioned to him not too long ago. Sure, the Overlord was using Garmadon’s body, but it would really be him that we were fighting this time. We wouldn’t have to fight Lloyd’s father after all.

But this wasn’t the way I had hoped that would happen. Not at all.

Kai walked up to me and Lloyd. “You can do this, guys.”

“We’re here and behind you all the way,” Jay reminded us.

Cole nodded in agreement. “He’s tough, but you’re both tougher.”

“But we have to act before his evil gets more powerful,” Zane said.

They were right. We _had_ to do this---Ninjago was counting on us! Plus, now that we technically weren’t going to fight Lloyd’s father, I felt a lot more motivated to do some serious damage to our enemy.

Lloyd and I locked gazes, silently coming to an agreement and exchanging a determined nod. We’d stand with each other until the end. “Let’s do this!” the two of us exclaimed in unison.

Leading the other four ninja, we all cried out “Ninja, go!” and charged ahead, spinning into our colorful vortexes of Spinjitzu. Lloyd and I stopped short of the Stone Warriors, shooting powerful bursts of energy and light at the ground between us and them. It left a barrier of blazing green and yellow fire in its wake, and the others charged through it, engaging the warriors in battle. The ninja leapt into action, using their elemental powers to burn, freeze, quake, and shock the Stone Warriors left and right, blasting them all away and destroying their vehicles. I fought hard as well, relentlessly releasing blast after blast of yellow light at the warriors of the Stone Army. Any of them that dared to come near me were either blinded or sent flying into the forest and out of sight. I smirked as I remembered that, not too long ago, we had held almost no defense against these guys. Now we were kicking their butts.

The Overlord tried to fire the Ultimate Weapon again, but the entire Stone Army was so busy fighting us that none of them had loaded the cannon again. Sensei Wu and Misako were quickly dispatching any warrior that tried to do so. They threw a missile at Jay, who whacked it with his sword and sent it flying into the ocean.

“This one’s out of the ballpark!” I heard him quip.

The Overlord growled in fury. He turned to General Kozu. “See to it personally that the cannon is loaded!”

General Kozu turned to Sensei Wu, ready to attack him and fulfill the order. However, Sensei grabbed his fist, pushing him back and flipping over him. As the general leapt at him, Sensei kicked him sideways, making him fly into the loading area where the missile was supposed to go. The Overlord then slammed his hand down onto the button, thinking that the weapon was properly loaded, only to shoot General Kozu out of the cannon instead. The general yelled as he flew through the air, quickly disappearing into the distance.

The hilarious sight made us all share a laugh in the midst of battle.

The Overlord growled in fury. “Fine!” he shouted. “I’ll load it myself!”

Kai and Jay partnered up, attacking the Stone Warrior that was manning the mini cannon on the side of the Ultimate Weapon. They were able to kick him off of it, and Kai leapt into the cannon’s seat, firing the warrior’s own weapon at them as Jay kicked the rest of them down.

Lloyd suddenly appeared at my side. “Are you ready to end this?” he asked me.

I nodded, smiling confidently. “Like I said: I was born that way.”

The two of us scurried over to the weapon, ready to finally fulfill our destiny. We both leapt onto the platform again, facing the Overlord side by side this time. With the exception of his armor, he didn’t resemble Lord Garmadon at all; instead, he looked like some dark anthropomorphic dragon with glowing purple eyes.

That would make this all the easier, then.

“Show’s over, lizard face,” I told him mockingly. I know, it wasn’t my best insult, but I had no time to think of a better one at the moment.

“This ends now!” Lloyd exclaimed, narrowing his eyes.

He and I stood across from the Overlord, staring him down as an incredibly tense moment passed.

I heard Misako speak from somewhere below us. “The final battle has begun.”

“Let’s hope they are ready,” Sensei stated.

“All this time...everything has led to this,” Lloyd said in a soft voice, realizing the gravity of this moment.

I was, too. My entire life with the ninja flashed before my eyes: meeting them, discovering I was the Yellow Ninja, training for this day, discovering my power, learning of the prophecy, accepting my destiny… It was all for this moment, right here.

We were ready.

“Stupid children!” the Overlord shouted at us. “I’ve been planning this for thousands of years.”

Lloyd and I immediately summoned our powers. 

“Eat green!” Lloyd exclaimed, releasing his energy.

“Eat yellow!” I exclaimed right after him, releasing my light at the same time.

Our combined beams of power struck the Overlord square in the chest, knocking him down.

“Show him, guys!” I heard Cole cheer.

The Overlord recovered quickly, summoning orbs of purple power in each of his four hands. He tried to blast us with them, but Lloyd and I leapt out of the way. However, the Overlord was fast, and just as Lloyd landed on a higher part of the weapon, our foe was already upon him. The Overlord struck Lloyd in the stomach, making the Green Ninja fly off of the vehicle and across the beach, crashing onto the sand a short distance away.

“Lloyd!” I cried out in worry. Growing angry at the Overlord, I summoned an orb of yellow light and surrounded my fist with it. “Nobody does that to my best friend!” I yelled, charging at the Overlord and striking him in the snout.

The Overlord growled at me. My attack didn’t seem to do him much damage at all---it only made him angrier. He swung all of his fists at me, and he was so fast that I could barely dodge them all. While I was occupied with just trying to keep from being hit, he summoned a blast of his purple power and struck me with it before I could react. I flew through the air just as Lloyd had, crashing onto the beach. The breath had been knocked from my lungs, and I tried to reorient myself as fast as I could.

I knew I had no time to rest as the Overlord came zooming toward me. He landed several feet in front of me, gathering his power in his hands again. Even though I was slightly dazed, I tried to scramble to my feet before he could blast me with his power. I knew I wouldn’t be fast enough, though.

Thankfully, just as the Overlord fired a beam of his power at me, Lloyd leapt in front of me defensively. He met the Overlord’s power head-on with his green energy, the two attacks clashing and fighting to gain ground. While this happened, I wasted no time, leaping to my feet once more.

The Overlord stopped firing his power, then attacked again immediately after both he and Lloyd had stopped. Lloyd and I flipped out of the way, easily dodging the blast. He and I ran over to stand side by side in front of the ocean, facing the Overlord. We combined our powers this time, each summoning our powers and shooting them at the Overlord in a joined beam of green and yellow. The massive beam of light and energy struck the Overlord head-on, violently pushing him straight back into the forest behind him.

“Yes!” I heard Jay cheer from the side.

Lloyd and I didn’t cheer, however, as we knew it would take more than that to defeat the Overlord. Sure enough, he appeared again a moment later, using his dark power to propel himself through the air. Laughing maniacally, he zoomed straight for us, and Lloyd and I had no time to react as he crashed straight into us. We were both thrown backward, crashing onto the sand again---near the ocean waves this time. Dust clouded between us and the Overlord from how hard he had impacted the ground. I lifted my head up wearily, only to see him walking towards us.

“The battle for good and evil,” he said. “I can do this for eternity...but can you? Your friends can’t help you now. The two of you are all alone!”

I leapt to my feet again, as did Lloyd. The two of us exchanged a look, then Lloyd turned back toward the Overlord, pulling off his gi mask. “No, we’re not,” he stated, confidence written all over his face. “My father is still in you. _He_ will fight with us!”

His words evoked a smile from me, and I removed my mask as well.

Lloyd was proven right a moment later, as for a moment, we saw Lord Garmadon again for a split second. “Lloyd? Stay strong,” he said, before vanishing once again.

Even if it was only for a moment, seeing Lord Garmadon still in there somewhere sparked new hope within me. He wasn’t gone for good---and this time, he was on our side.

“Fools!” the Overlord growled as he took control again. “You cannot defeat me!”

Lloyd and I moved in sync, summoning our powers at the same moment and blasting the Overlord with them. As he flew into the air for a moment, Lloyd and I sprinted at him. He fell into our pair of waiting fists, and we uppercutted him in unison, making him fly backward.

“We can definitely try!” I replied confidently.

Lloyd shot another blast of his power at the Overlord again. It only fazed him for a moment. That’s when I had the idea to attack him from another angle to make it harder on him, while Lloyd attacked him from here. I quickly cartwheeled around to the Overlord’s right, firing a beam of yellow light straight for him just as Lloyd unleashed a beam of green energy from where I’d left him.

The Overlord raised his hands, all four of them glowing with power once more as he defended himself from our attacks. He was overwhelmed for a moment, trying to counter both of our beams of power with his own. Then, he seemed to have an easier time, using two arms to clash with Lloyd’s power and the other two arms to clash with mine.

The three of us stood at an impasse once more, our beams of power pushing against each other, struggling to push each other back. Purple clashed with yellow and green, and our powers crackled loudly, lighting up the dark of night with our bright colors. I dug deep into myself, pouring every ounce of strength and light I had left in me into my bright beam of yellow light. I felt so powerful, and I fought harder than ever to break through to strike the Overlord with Lloyd. I could feel the incredible strength of the Overlord’s attack pushing against mine, our two forces struggling against one another to gain an advantage. Even when my arms began to tremble from exerting myself for so long, I didn’t let up; I knew that if I stopped now, the Overlord’s strike upon me would be devastating.

“Fight, Father!” I heard Lloyd shout.

I saw Lord Garmadon appear for a split second more at his son’s cry. “Lloyd!”

“You can beat him, Lord Garmadon!” I encouraged him, hoping that he would hear me, too.

“Fight him!” Lloyd yelled.

Kai watched in awe from the sidelines. “They _are_ the Green Ninja and Yellow Ninja.”

Lord Garmadon spoke from within the Overlord’s control, fighting as hard as he could to break free. “You will not...take…”

“Fight him!!!” Lloyd yelled again, louder this time.

“You can do it!!” I exclaimed.

“...my son!”

The Overlord struggled to push down the spirit of Lord Garmadon, his form shifting between the two. Then, after a few tense moments, the struggling stopped, and a wide smirk spread over the Overlord’s elongated face.

“Your father is... _gone_!”

My heart sank.

In a sudden second wind, the Overlord released a burst of dark power, pointing a hand at each of us and striking both me and Lloyd with blasts that broke through our elements. His powers captured us both in dark orbs, lifting us into the air. I cried out in pain, trying to struggle against his hold to no avail. The Overlord cackled as he held us within his power, before blasting us both away like we weighed nothing at all. I had to watch in horror as he tossed Lloyd overhead, sending him crashing hard onto the ground near the Ultimate Weapon. The next moment, a wave of his power struck me, and I was sent flying up through the air backwards, toward the ocean. I screamed as I flew, unable to stop myself from crashing into the ocean’s surface with a mighty splash. I heard multiple shouts of my name before falling underwater.

It was like when I fell from the cliffs with the others earlier---except worse. My head felt like it was on fire, and I grew so distorted and dazed that I could only sink for a few moments as I fought to stay conscious. My mouth didn’t stay closed for long, and water started forcing itself down my throat. My eyes flew open, and I frantically moved my arms around, trying to find the surface so I could breathe again. I only moved slightly through the water, but couldn’t find the surface; my vision was fading in and out, and it was like I had forgotten how to swim. My body began to shut down, and for one long, pertifying moment, I thought that I was going to die.

Then, I saw a dark figure, swimming toward me as quickly as they could. They easily found me under the water, and grabbed me with both arms, kicking their legs frantically to get me to the surface. A face swimmed into view for a moment, but it was long enough for me to recognize---Cole.

Cole broke the surface with me, and my lungs burned as water spilled out of them and air was inhaled into them. I coughed multiple times, greedily sucking in the air I’d been lacking for what felt like forever. One thing was for sure: I would never take breathing for granted ever again.

I could barely make out Cole saying, “Don’t worry, sis, I’ve got you.” He shifted me to one arm, holding onto me tightly as he used his other arm to slowly swim forward and carry me back to the shore.

Knowing that he had rescued me was all I needed. I suddenly grew extremely faint, and before I knew it, I succumbed to the unconsciousness pulling at me.

. . .

Slowly, I came back to the land of the living. My eyes opened after a great effort, taking in the sight of sand next to my head. I cringed for a moment as a sharp pain lanced through my head, but it quickly went away. Every part of my body ached. I moved my head to look upward, and saw the concerned faces of Cole, Jay, Kai, and Zane staring down at me. Judging by the still-dark sky that I saw behind them, I guessed that I hadn’t been out for too long. One by one, each of them smiled in relief upon seeing that I was relatively okay.

Groaning in pain, I tried to sit up. Cole helped me, gently pushing my back to help me upward. I heard familiar grunts from my left, and turned to see Lloyd laying next to me. He was in much the same condition that I was, and I grew saddened by seeing him so broken and battered.

I probably didn’t look much better, I knew.

Lloyd blinked as he tried to reorient himself. “Did we… Did we win?”

My eyes clenched shut, and I shook my head in defeat. I already knew the answer to that question.

“No.” Sensei Wu was the one to answer him. “But you’re both alive.”

Jay and Misako helped Lloyd stand up, and Kai and Cole came over to me and did the same. They each held one of my arms, supporting me as I tried to stand on my own. _Everything still hurts…_

Lloyd tried to walk forward a few steps. “But the prophecy…” His leg faltered, and he fell forward onto his face.

“Lloyd!” I immediately exclaimed, trying to rush forward over to him. It became more of a stumble, as I soon discovered that my legs felt like lead. I fell more than sank down beside Lloyd, landing in the sand again.

Jay and Misako scurried over to help us up again. “Easy, kids,” Jay said. “You’ve been through a lot.”

As soon as Lloyd was standing again, he tried walking once more, but was limping. “My leg…”

Concern gripped me. “Is it...broken?”

“It sure feels like it,” he replied as he limped over to the shoreline. He stopped just short of where the waves were flowing. “Did we lose the final battle?”

Sensei Wu walked up next to him. “What’s important is we didn’t lose you or Aurora.”

Lloyd looked to his right, spotting a piece of wood nearby. It looked like it belonged to the Destiny’s Bounty. He limped over to it, picking it up and examining the markings on it. “The symbol for destiny,” he observed. “Destiny showed us who was stronger today…”

Letting go of Jay’s arm, I slowly made my way over to Lloyd’s side, careful not to fall on my face. When I reached Lloyd, I rested a hand on his shoulder---not only to comfort him, but also to support myself. “But I think that destiny still wants us around to fight another day,” I told him. After all, if that wasn’t the case, then wouldn’t Lloyd and I be dead now?

Lloyd looked up at me, nodding. “You’re right.” He looked up into the dark horizon, and I followed his gaze, lost in my thoughts. The others all walked up to us, surrounding us and putting their hands on our shoulders comfortingly. “We didn’t lose the battle,” Lloyd stated. “Today, we just lost the fight.”

My hand sought out Lloyd’s--it was like an instinct now--and easily found it waiting for me. I squeezed his hand in reassurance, and he squeezed back. The two of us didn’t need to exchange words to know what the other was thinking in that moment:

Today, we had lost. But that didn’t mean we were defeated. We were bruised and beaten, but we would come back stronger than ever---and we _would_ face the Overlord again.

This battle was _not_ over.

Not by a longshot.


	14. Episode 26: Rise of the Spinjitzu Masters

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Overlord thinks he's won---but he has no idea what's coming.
> 
> The battle to end all battles.
> 
> This. Ends. Now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *squeals loudly in excitement* At last! Here it is! The moment you've all been waiting for: it's time for the final battle! Wooooo-hoooooo! I'm so excited! I couldn't wait any longer so I decided to release this chapter a day early. :)
> 
> I have a suggestion: I HIGHLY recommend that you listen to the final battle soundtrack as you read this chapter. I listened to it nonstop as I wrote the final battle scene, and it gave me chills! It's up to you, of course, but here's a link just in case: https://youtu.be/G5aqg8Qxl28
> 
> And, as you can see from the book's description...this is NOT the last chapter! So stay tuned!  
> \--------------------------

As a new day dawned upon the Dark Island, everyone got what little rest they could and then started talking about what to do next. The Overlord and his Stone Army had taken their Ultimate Weapon and crossed over into Ninjago---I shuddered to think of what they were doing over there right now. And, with the Bounty damaged in the fight--and without Nya here to help repair it--we were going nowhere fast.

Zane’s father was tending to me and Lloyd, giving us a medical examination and tending to our wounds. I was relieved to discover that none of my body parts were broken; my worst injury turned out to be my bruised ribs (first crushed under the foot of stupid General Kozu, then from me being thrown around so much). My head still had sharp pains from time to time, and sometimes when I tried to walk I felt dizzy, but Zane’s father assured me that it would pass as long as I took it easy. He also said that I was very lucky that my injuries weren’t worse. I would still be able to walk and move around, thankfully, and he gave me medicine for my headaches, as well as my sore arms, legs, and ribs.

Lloyd, unfortunately, wasn’t as lucky.

“Can I still fight?” he asked.

“Hmm, I’m sorry,” Zane’s father replied as he bandaged Lloyd’s broken leg. “That leg will take weeks to heal.”

“We don’t _have_ weeks,” Lloyd told him, frowning. He grunted in pain as Zane’s father finished wrapping bandages around his leg.

I scooched closer to him, resting a hand on his uninjured leg. Lloyd looked at me, then looked down in defeat. He placed his hand over mine as he sighed.

“What are we gonna do, Aurora?” he asked me. “You and I can barely stand. How can we defeat the Overlord now?”

I echoed his sigh. “Honestly...I’m not sure on the ‘how,’” I admitted. “But what I _do_ know is that we definitely will defeat him.” I gave Lloyd a smile of hope and confidence. “Remember what I told you yesterday: it’s set in stone. Sure, we may be beaten and defeated now, but the final battle hasn’t ended yet. Somehow, we’ll come out on top---and we’ll do it together. Just like we do everything else.”

My words slowly evoked a smile from him. “How do you always know just how to pick me up when I’m down?” he asked me.

I shrugged, smirking. “It’s a gift.”

Lloyd chuckled briefly at my response. “Thanks, Rose,” he told me. He then turned toward where the others stood on the shoreline, deep in conversation. Once Zane’s father was done with his leg, he moved to stand up. I immediately heaved myself to my feet--careful not to overdo it--and helped him up. I put his arm across my shoulders, supporting him as we hobbled our way over to the others. I was reminded of another battle a few months ago: the fight with the Great Devourer. He’d helped me walk just like this when I’d been injured, and now the roles had been reversed, giving me deja vu.

I caught part of the others’ conversation as we walked up to them. “Perhaps it’s best to think of our friends as we remember them in our hearts, not as they are now.”

They must’ve been talking about Nya. I grew sad again, knowing that she was still evil and with the Overlord. We would get her back, whatever it took.

“But I don’t remember my father any other way,” Lloyd replied as we stopped behind them, making the group turn around to face us.

“Your father loved you,” his mother assured him. “It was the evil of the Great Devourer that corrupted him.”

Kai sighed. “Sensei, I don’t understand. The prophecy said the Green Ninja and Yellow Ninja would defeat the dark lord.” He tossed a rock, skipping it on the water in front of us. “Why didn’t we win?”

Sensei was silent for a moment, then admitted, “I...don’t know.”

“Don’t know?!” Jay echoed in shock. “You’re Sensei! You _always_ know! You have a long white beard!”

I snorted in amusement. _What does that have to do with it?_

“There must be some message to learn,” Kai guessed. “A lesson. A word of wisdom. Just a word? Something!”

Sensei sighed, looking down. “For once, I’m afraid there is nothing to learn. Only that evil has won.”

Everyone grew silent, staring out at the massive fog of darkness that had surrounded Ninjago in the far distance. I refused to let myself grow sad, though. Evil had won yesterday, but today was a new day. Maybe it was just my optimism speaking, but somehow, I knew that today would be drastically different---and have a much better outcome.

I was about to say as much to everyone, but Lloyd spoke up first. “If Sensei doesn’t have a lesson, then I do.” He let go of my shoulder, standing on his one good leg and hopping around as he talked. I wanted to protest this and keep supporting him instead, but I knew that he wanted to try and move around on his own, so I decided to respect that.

“I used to be nothing but trouble...but then I met Aurora.” He shot me a smile, and I fondly returned it. “Suddenly, for the first time, I had a real friend---one who would stick by my side through anything. Then, we met you guys. You took us in. Showed us the importance of being brave, the importance of being strong. And most importantly, you all showed me the importance of being good.”

He tried stepping on his injured leg, but grunted in pain, faltering for a moment. I rushed to his side, offering my assistance again. He rested his arm around my shoulders gratefully, letting me help him turn around to face the others. “When this battle first began,” he continued, “when the first Spinjitzu master fought the Overlord, and his back was up against the wall and he knew it was all over, did he quit? No.” I supported him as he hopped his way back over to the others. “He found a way to keep the fight going. He passed his elemental powers to us. Of all people, a bunch of kids! But there must have been a reason he chose us. I’d like to think it’s because he knew we’d _never_ back down, we’d _never_ give up. We’ve learned the ancient ways of the ninja---and ninja never quit.”

A wide grin spread across my face. “I’d listen to him if I were you, guys,” I told the others, feeling immensely proud of my best friend. “He’s absolutely right.”

Kai put on a determined face. “He is,” he agreed. “If that means we have to swim the sea to get off this island, then so be it.” He turned around and immediately began marching into the water.

“The entire ocean?” Jay asked incredulously. “But I didn’t bring my floaties…”

I snorted again.

“Well, if you’ve got a better plan,” Cole replied.

“I don’t,” Zane said, “but he may.” He pointed up at the sky, and I craned my neck upward to see the falcon flying toward us.

“Ooh, the falcon!” Zane’s father exclaimed, smiling. “He must’ve found something.”

Before I knew it, we were all quickly following the falcon into the forest. He led us through the trees and to a familiar mountain. When I felt that peaceful, warm feeling inside my chest again, I knew where we were headed. The Temple of Light would be aiding us once more.

Kai had brought along his samurai mech, and everyone climbed aboard and hung onto him as he scaled the mountain. The ride wasn’t as fast or rough as last time, since there were no Stone Warriors chasing us and all. Kai eventually climbed up to the peak of the mountain, where the falcon was waiting for us on top of the temple. That was when I wondered: how had the falcon known to bring us here? Did it know something we didn’t?

“You brought us back to the Temple of Light?” Zane asked his friend, apparently wondering the same thing that I was. “I do not understand. We’ve already been here.”

As everybody climbed off the mech--me wincing as my ribs protested--Misako pulled out her scroll that depicted the temple. “This location… I’ve seen this before,” she announced. “I just never understood it.”

Before I started heading for the entrance, I stopped as an idea struck me. Breaking away from the others, I walked over to the edge of the cliff. Cupping my hands around my mouth, I whistled my dragon call as loud as I possibly could, in the direction where I knew Ninjago was.

_A bit of a longshot,_ I told myself, _but there is a small chance he’ll show up._ I hoped he did. I missed him.

Everyone ventured inside, trying to find whatever Misako’s scroll was telling us about. After looking around for a few minutes, Kai spoke up.

“I think I found something,” he announced, pointing to a glowing slot in one of the pillars. “It’s just like the map.” He walked over to it, inserting his sword. Once he did, I heard a _clunk_ , and the hole glowed brighter.

“There's one more over there,” Sensei Wu said, pointing to another pillar.

Zane’s father pointed to another one. “And here.”

“And over there,” Misako said, pointing to the last pillar.

Jay, Cole, and Zane each walked over to a pillar, inserting their elemental sword like Kai had. Once they were all in, the ground began to rumble beneath us.

“What is it?” Kai wondered.

Lloyd, Misako, Sensei, Zane’s father, and I all stepped off of the golden circle in the middle. The next moment, it slid away, revealing a hole in the floor. Out of that hole rose a giant gold and white mech, old and dusty but clearly meant for fighting. It was simple but ornate, and was complete with a giant golden farmer’s hat over the cockpit.

“Whoa!” I gasped as it rose from the ground.

“Cool!” Jay exclaimed.

Misako walked around it. “It is the fighting suit the first Spinjitzu master used when he battled the Overlord,” she explained.

Cole ran over to it, immediately wanting to try it out. “You mean the first Spinjitzu master sat here?!” he exclaimed in awe as he climbed up the mech and sat down in the seat at the top. “Ha ha! Get out of here! How do you make this thing work?”

Zane’s father sighed. “Sadly, I think time has done her in,” he observed. “She’s only a relic now.”

Sensei hummed, then looked over at Lloyd and me. “If it worked for the first Spinjitzu master, perhaps it will work for one of the next Spinjitzu masters?”

Lloyd smiled. “It’s worth a try,” he said, walking over to the mech. I was happy with letting him use it, if it worked; after all, his leg was broken, and he would need it more than I would.

“Hey, watch out,” Cole yelled as he hopped off the mech, coming in for a landing.

Lloyd climbed into the seat once he was gone. He frowned, fumbling with the controls. “Nothing,” he said after a few moments.

As soon as he said that, however, the entire mech began to glow. A bright golden aura surrounded the suit, and the mechanisms whirred to life. The rust and damage seemed to vanish like magic, leaving the mech looking brand new.

“That’s so cool!” I exclaimed, beaming in excitement.

“Whoa!” Cole yelled.

“Looking good!” Kai said.

“Killer!” Jay shouted.

“Amazing!” Zane exclaimed.

I smiled up at Lloyd. “How does your leg feel now?” I asked him.

In response, Lloyd made the mech’s right leg step off the ground, revealing a jet booster underneath. “Stronger!” he replied. He raised the mech’s giant golden sword into the air above his head, grinning like a child on Christmas.

“Well, I know how _he_ is getting to Ninjago,” Misako stated. “But what about us?”

Fate answered her question immediately. Outside the temple in the distance, I heard the muffled sound of a familiar roar. I whirled around, gasping in surprise. “Is that glorious sound what I think it is?!” I squealed in happiness. “It’s our dragon! He heard me calling for him!” I jumped for joy. _I can’t believe that actually worked!_

Sensei Wu smiled. “I believe we just found our way off this rock.”

. . .

I sat at the helm of the Ultra-Dragon, flying him through the air alongside Lloyd and his new golden mech. Cole and Kai sat next to me as I held onto the reins, finally reunited with my dragon best friend. He’d certainly missed me, too. We soared through the clouds, heading back to Ninjago as fast as we could.

Until this moment, I hadn’t realized how much I’d missed soaring through the skies like this. Flying on the back of a dragon was much different than being on the Bounty. I tilted my head back, enjoying the feeling of the wind flying into my face and blowing my hair around behind me. Lloyd flew through the air in his mech next to us. I cheered into the sky with the other ninja, enjoying this moment of freedom. I heard Lloyd chuckling inside his mech next to us, also having a lot of fun.

“I see Ninjago,” Kai announced at one point. “We’re not far away!” He pointed out a mass of dark clouds in the middle of the normal gray ones. I couldn’t see what lay below it, and that made my smile slowly fade.

“Uh, are you sure that’s Ninjago?” Cole asked him, frowning.

Lloyd zoomed in front of us, taking the lead and diving down into the dark abyss of clouds. I followed the beacon that was his shiny golden suit, steering the Ultra-Dragon to dive down after him. As we descended, the familiar buildings of Ninjago City came into view...but they were different than we’d left them.

The entire city was covered in a dark canopy of clouds; there was no light at all, and it was a wonder that we could still see clearly. All the buildings, normally so colorful and diverse, looked the same in this gloom: dark and foreboding. I followed Lloyd as he flew by a tall, massive building in the center of the city that hadn’t been there before. An eerie purple light glowed at the top, and at the base of the tower, the entire Stone Army was gathered together.

I gulped. “This isn’t intimidating at all…”

“What is that thing?” Kai wondered.

“Garmatron,” Sensei Wu replied.

“It’s...turned into a fortress?” Misako guessed.

“But where’s the Overlord?” Zane’s father wondered.

Lloyd flew his mech downward, diving for the ground below. I followed close behind him on our dragon, swooping down and hoping that the Stone Warriors wouldn’t notice us yet. We landed a safe distance away from the fortress, where the dragon and mech would be hidden. Everyone hopped off the dragon’s back, but Lloyd stayed in his mech. The ninja and I crept over to a corner, peering around it and looking at the street beyond. What I saw shocked me: the citizens of Ninjago were all trudging around like zombies, their skin gray and their eyes glowing purple just as Nya’s had been.

“Oh no,” I muttered worriedly.

“He’s turned everyone evil,” Kai observed in a whisper.

“Oh, just like Nya,” Jay added sadly.

“And now they’re helping his cause,” Cole pointed out. We ducked back around the corner, and he smirked beneath his mask. “I can’t wait to see the look on the Overlord’s face when he gets a load of us!”

I giggled at his enthusiasm. “He won’t know what hit him.”

Suddenly, we heard a loud, distorted roar. I recognized it as a dragon’s roar, but this one was much more sinister and threatening than our friendly dragon’s roar. I looked up with everyone else, and what I saw on top of the evil fortress made my eyes widen and my blood run cold.

A massive, terrifying dark dragon sat perched atop the fortress. I think that he was even bigger than our dragon, if his massive wingspan was anything to go by. The clouds above swirled around him, and he released missiles of black mist out into the city below, much like the mechanical missiles the Ultimate Weapon had fired.

“Oh. My. Goodness,” Jay gasped slowly, as shocked as I was. “Oh, sweet mother may I…”

One of the black mists came flying straight for us.

“Look out, Jay!” Cole shouted.

Everyone hid their faces as the missile crashed to the street in front of us. An inky dark matter began spreading over the ground, and we were careful not to step in it.

“Is _that_ the look you were hoping for?” Zane asked, a hint of humor in his tone.

I snorted a little, but Jay wasn’t having it. “Zane? No,” he admonished.

“The metamorphosis is complete,” Misako stated grimly as we all stared up at the dragon Overlord in shock. “The Overlord’s changed into his original form.”

I shuddered when I heard the Overlord screech loudly. “W-Well, at least now he _looks_ like an Overlord…” I didn’t even want to think about what had happened to Lord Garmadon.

“But we can’t fly up there,” Cole pointed out.

“We have my father’s golden mech,” Sensei Wu reminded us, pointing up at it. “We have to draw their fire to help Lloyd and Aurora use the mech against the Overlord.”

Cole gave a determined nod. “We hear ya loud and clear.”

Lloyd looked down at me, gesturing upward. “Come on up, Aurora!”

I chuckled, walking over and climbing up the shiny mech, being mindful of my bruised ribs. When I reached the top, Lloyd scooched over inside the cockpit; apparently, there was room for the both of us in there. I swung myself down into the seat beside Lloyd. I failed to notice the golden aura around the mech turning into a mix of gold and silver as I sat down.

“Hello again,” I greeted him playfully. “Ready for round two?”

Lloyd smirked. “Born ready.”

He steered the mech around--he had to reach across me to hold one of the handles, but I was trying to ignore that--and we quickly moved into position. Everyone else mounted the Ultra-Dragon again, flying off into the sky to create their distraction. Lloyd walked the mech down the street, heading to where we needed to be. 

As we went, I spotted a familiar dojo on the left. The door opened, and Dareth came running outside, staring up at the golden mech in awe. I waved down at him as we passed by.

Dareth cheered. “Yeah! I knew you’d be back!”

I chuckled at his reaction. He, along with the rest of Ninjago, were counting on us. Whatever it took, I would _not_ be letting them down---and neither would Lloyd.

Lloyd moved the mech to a spot behind the fortress, waiting for the Stone Army to be distracted before we attacked. Finally, the moment arrived, and he made the mech charge straight for the fortress. He made the mech unsheath its giant sword, holding it high over our heads as we charged.

“Time to bring out the big buttons,” Lloyd exclaimed.

“Woo-hoo!” I cheered as we attacked.

Lloyd swung the sword down onto the wall surrounding the tower, smashing a giant hole into it. The Stone Army turned to us in surprise, growling and yelling at us. They charged at us, but Lloyd easily whacked them all away with a sweep of his sword. He raised the sword, about to strike again.

“Ninja---”

He was cut off when a blast came out of nowhere, hitting the mech right in the shoulder. The arm with the sword broke away, crashing to the ground uselessly. I looked up, and was shocked to see Nya above us on the tower. She was at the helm of a small energy cannon, cackling evilly as she fired down at us. She hit the mech square in the chest, making us topple over backward. The mech sparked as it was damaged, and I knew that it was now broken. Just like that, our new weapon was destroyed before we could really use it.

I immediately scrambled out of the mech, as did Lloyd. I groaned a bit, as the impact had made my bruised body start hurting again. Looking up, I gasped when I saw the Stone Army charging at us again. “Uh oh.”

Remembering that Lloyd’s leg was still broken, I scrambled to my feet and tried to help him stand as fast as I could. The Stone Warriors were already upon us, however, and just as we both were up, they knocked us back down again.

“Oh no!” Lloyd yelled as we both fell onto our backs on the hard ground.

I glared up at the warriors, summoning my yellow light in my hand, ready to defend us both. I didn’t have to, however, as the Ultra-Dragon appeared overhead and Kai, Jay, Cole, and Zane all hopped off of him. They fell toward the ground crying “Ninja, go!” as they landed in front of me and Lloyd defensively, elemental swords at the ready.

I smiled in relief. “Perfect timing, guys!” I told them.

“We’re okay,” Lloyd assured them weakly.

Jay looked back at us. “Yeah. But are we?”

The Stone Army growled loudly, and I looked to see them all surrounding us. I gulped as I heaved myself to my feet, wondering how we were gonna get out of this one. The Overlord roared again, and we all looked up to see another cloud of black mist heading straight for us.

Zane shot a beam of ice, creating an ice barrier overhead. “Ice!” It protected us from the dark matter.

“Good job, Zane!” Kai praised.

Evil Nya, who was still above us, shot repeatedly at the ice barrier, eventually making it shatter overhead. Kai thrust his sword upward, shouting “Fire!” and releasing a pillar of fire to block the laser bolts from hitting us. Nya retreated after the resulting blaze.

The Stone Warriors all closed in on the six of us. We all stood in a circle, back to back as we fought off the warriors. Ignoring my pain and fatigue, I shot blasts of light at any warrior that came too close, knocking them away. I did this again and again, as many times as I had to.

Jay chuckled as we fought. “I know we’ve always drawn a crowd, but this is ridiculous!”

“How can you be making jokes at a time like this?!” Kai exclaimed in annoyance.

“Hey, if I’m going down, might as well go down laughing!” Jay defended.

“If this _is_ how we’re going to go down, I am proud to be fighting alongside my brothers and sister,” Zane stated calmly.

I smiled at that, feeling the warm fuzzies again. “The feeling’s mutual, Zane!”

“Here, here!” Cole agreed.

The Stone Warriors never seemed to stop coming, but we never stopped fighting. The six of us fought and fought and fought together, never backing down or letting up. Ninjago was depending on us, after all. _I am NOT dying before I help Lloyd defeat the Overlord_ , I thought angrily, blasting warriors away left and right. _That’s a promise!_

“Keep fighting!” Lloyd encouraged everyone. “Never give up!”

“Yeah! Ninja never quit!” I added confidently.

With a cry of “Ninja, go!” the six of us spun into our tornadoes of Spinjitzu. We kept close together, our bright Spinjitzu lighting up the darkness and knocking back all the Stone Warriors that were nearby. However, Nya soon came back with a vengeance, shooting down at us and blasting us all off our feet.

A Stone Warrior walked over to me, ready to swing his sword down at me, but Kai blocked it with his own. Their swords pushed against each other, trying to break through the other’s defense. Now that we had been blasted off the fallen mech, we were in an even worse position than before.

“We’re doomed, guys!” Jay shouted as he realized this.

“It ain’t over ‘till it’s over!” I stated, still determined to win this fight. Somehow.

The Stone Army kept attacking us, and while we struggled to fight hard, it soon became easier and easier for the warriors to break through our defenses. The six of us huddled together, fighting them off as they continued attacking us relentlessly. I didn’t see any easy way out, and I wondered what we could possibly do. _We can’t lose now! Not when we’re so close!_ The Overlord was literally _right there_ ; we couldn’t be defeated before we even reached him!

Then, as if the universe heard my pleas, the Stone Army suddenly ground to a halt. It was as if time had stopped for them, each one of the warriors frozen in their attacks and snarling faces. The six of us breathed out a collective sigh of relief, then picked ourselves up off the ground. I let Lloyd lean on my shoulder again as we stood.

“Not that I’m complaining,” I said, confused, “but what’s going on?”

“They are frozen,” Zane pointed out.

That was when General Kozu stood atop a rock, pointing one of his swords upward at a familiar dragon. “All hail the Brown Ninja!” he exclaimed. “What do you command?”

I sputtered, pulling off my gi mask. “Say what?” Were they talking about...Dareth?!

“Brown Ninja?” Jay echoed.

We all looked up to see the Ultra-Dragon coming in for a landing, the Stone Warriors moving out of his way. Riding the dragon was Sensei Wu, Misako, Zane’s father, and...yep, it was Dareth.

Dareth, now wearing the Helmet of Shadows, chuckled. “What’s up, fellas? Looks like we all know who’s in command now.”

“The helmet controls the army,” Cole realized, grinning as the dragon landed. “Well done!”

“Oh, that means now we stand a fighting chance!” Jay exclaimed in glee.

Lloyd turned to the tower, pointing up to the top of it. “Aurora and I need to get to the top of that fortress. We may not be able to get there by ourselves…” He looked down at his broken leg.

I nodded in agreement. “But with your help, we can get up there and face him!” It would definitely be nice if he and I didn’t have to fight our way up there with all our injuries.

The six of us exchanged confident smiles and looks of determination. Kai, Jay, Cole, and Zane surrounded me and Lloyd, putting their elemental swords together over our heads.

“Ninja, go!” We all cheered as one.

Dareth walked up to us, mouth agape at the elemental swords. “W-Where’d you get those? I want one…”

Kai looked at him for a moment, shrugged, then smiled at him. “You too, Brown Ninja. Today, you’re one of us.” He handed his fire sword to Dareth, who grinned widely at the honor. “Shall we do it once more, just for old time’s sake?”

“Ninja, go!” Dareth replied heartily. He then turned toward the Stone Army, pointing the sword at them. “Army! About face!”

The Stone Warriors lined up at the beginning of the staircase that wound around the fortress, leading to the very top.

“Stone Army, go!”

At Dareth’s command, the Stone Warriors marched up the stairs. Sadly, they didn’t get very far, as evil Nya began blasting them away with her laser cannon.

While his Stone Army attacked, Dareth turned back to Kai, frowning. “You’d better have this back…” He handed Kai back his elemental sword.

With Nya distracted by both the Stone Warriors and the Ultra-Dragon, the six of us started making our way up the long spiral of stairs. I supported Lloyd on one side, while Cole was on his other side, helping him hop up the stairs as fast as he could. We were making nice progress, when suddenly the Overlord roared again, sending another cloud of dark matter down at us.

“Look out!” Jay shouted in alarm.

I immediately pulled Lloyd back, keeping us away from the blast. To my horror, Cole was hit by the dark matter. It clouded around him, making him clench his eyes shut.

“Cole!” I exclaimed in shock and terror. “No!”

“Cole, come on. Get up,” Lloyd urged him worriedly.

“I’m hit!” Cole exclaimed. “Go! Go on...without me…”

I put my hand on his shoulder as he bent over, shaking. I was reluctant to just leave him. I _couldn’t_ just leave him there! “Cole…”

“We need to move,” Kai told us. “Now!”

I didn’t want to leave Cole, but I knew that we had no time to waste, either. Reluctantly, I stepped away from Cole, sadness filling my heart. Jay stepped onto Lloyd’s other side and helped me support him as we continued onward, climbing the stairs once again.

We didn’t make it very far before the Overlord roared again, sending another shot of dark matter straight for us. “Not again!” I shouted as the mist plummeted straight toward me.

Jay immediately shoved Lloyd and I out of harm’s way, taking the blast himself.

“No!” Lloyd yelled.

“Jay!” I exclaimed, reaching for him as my heart clenched painfully.

He knocked me away, curling in on himself. “Get out of the way!”

Kai ran back down to us, taking Jay’s spot on Lloyd’s other side. “Don’t look!” he told us. “Just keep climbing!”

He urged us onward, and I reluctantly left Jay behind. Just like that, two of my friends were gone… How long before the others went as well?

The four of us kept climbing as quickly as we could. My bruised ribs were protesting at moving so fast while supporting Lloyd’s weight at the same time, but I ignored it and pressed on. We had to reach the top---we just _had_ to.

Zane looked back at the three of us, frowning. “From my calculations, with the distance remaining to the top, the odds are that only two of us are going to make it.”

“Then let’s beat the odds!” Lloyd proclaimed.

“Yeah!” I agreed. “We can do this! Let’s---!”

I stopped when I heard growling behind us. Turning around, we were met with the awful sight of an evil Jay and evil Cole, their skin a dark gray and their eyes glowing purple. They’d joined Nya on the dark side.

“Oh no,” I whimpered, my heart breaking at seeing them like this.

They brandished their swords at us, but Zane leapt between us and them, holding their elemental swords at bay with his own. “Go on,” he urged us. “I’ll hold them back.”

I frowned in dismay. “Zane…”

We had no time to argue with him. Kai, Lloyd, and I all hurried onward, climbing the stairs and slowly nearing the top of the fortress. Just as I thought that all three of us were going to make it, we rounded a corner and were met with Nya and her laser cannon, laughing maniacally.

“Nya!” Kai exclaimed. He turned to me and Lloyd. “I’m gonna draw her fire so the two of you can make it to the top.”

Evil Nya started shooting at us, but Kai leapt in front of me and Lloyd, deflecting the bolts with his sword.

“Not you too, Kai!” I exclaimed, my heart being wrenched again.

“We can do this together!” Lloyd tried to reason with him.

“No,” Kai told us, his mind made up. “There’s only two ninja of legend. This is _your_ fight.”

Lloyd and I exchanged reluctant looks, then nodded, pressing onward. I continued holding Lloyd’s arm around my shoulder as my arm rested on his waist, the two of us supporting one another as we climbed the stairs as fast as we could.

“You’re both hurt!” Evil Nya jeered at us as she fought Kai. “You hardly stand a chance!”

The two of us ignored her, reluctantly leaving our friend behind and rushing toward the battle we knew we had to fight.

“Go, Lloyd! Go, Aurora!” Kai shouted at us.

Working together, Lloyd and I hurried up the last long flight of steps to where our foe waited for us. I tried not to think about losing the others; the only way to save them now was to defeat the Overlord. I grew angry at the Overlord again---he didn’t know what was coming his way. I had hoped that Kai, Jay, Cole, and Zane would at least be there with us again when we battled him, but that was not the way destiny intended it. Like Kai said, this was my and Lloyd’s fight. No one else’s.

My heartbeat pounded in my ears as we climbed the stairs. A cold stone of dread formed in the pit of my stomach, but I ignored it, trying to stay confident. The odds were against us, but Lloyd and I---we were a team. We could do anything together.

Lloyd turned to me as we climbed. “We’re going to win this time,” he stated confidently. “Right?”

I gave him a determined nod. “You bet we are,” I replied with a confident grin. The thought crossed my mind to tell him how I felt about him, just in case we didn’t make it out alive. But then I pushed the thought away; we _would_ come out of this on top. There would be plenty of time for that stuff later on.

Lloyd nodded in return. “Are you with me, Yellow Ninja?”

I scoffed, smiling at him. “Like you even had to ask, Green Ninja.”

He smirked at my response. Like always, we were of the same mind, and an unspoken agreement passed between us. We would fight together, and stand by each other’s side no matter what. We were with each other until the end.

At last, Lloyd and I arrived up at the top of the dark fortress. The giant dragon Overlord was waiting for us, his massive head towering over where we stood and fixing us with his eerie purple eyes.

_Why do all the big monsters and villains we fight seem to have glowing purple eyes?_

Lloyd let go of me as we stood side by side, leering up at the Overlord. The two of us pulled on our gi masks in unison.

Lloyd spoke first. “We have come here to fight you!”

The Overlord growled down at us, his voice ringing across the sky. “Neither of you are in shape to fight,” he proclaimed. “It’s over. Evil wins.”

“A ninja never quits,” I replied, my voice steady.

The Overlord laughed at us sinisterly, clearly amused by our defiance. “You don’t even have swords.”

“We don’t need swords,” Lloyd informed him.

Together, the two of us summoned our powers. Like so many other times, Lloyd summoned an orb of green energy, and I summoned an orb of yellow light. We combined our powers, surrounding ourselves in a giant orb of glowing green and yellow.

The Overlord growled once more. “Then all I have to say is... _goodbye_.” He raised his massive head, then thrust it downward, releasing a huge blast of purple fire and smoke upon us from his mouth. The steady stream of fire didn’t let up, slowly pushing me and Lloyd back toward the edge of the tower. Our orb scooched closer and closer to the edge, nearly falling off.

But we would never back down.

After sharing a look of determination, Lloyd and I nodded in unison, then pushed back. We both dug deep down within ourselves, gathering all the elemental power and strength we had left inside of us and releasing everything in one mighty wave of power.

Suddenly, I found myself wielding more power than I think I ever had before. Our combined orb of green and yellow expanded exponentially, dispelling the Overlord’s dark fire as it grew brighter and brighter, lighting up the darkness and making the Overlord recoil from the blinding glare. All the power we had within us surged outward, surrounding us both in its embrace as we were lifted up into the air by some unseen force.

It didn’t matter what the Overlord did or said. It didn’t matter that we were both injured. It didn’t even matter that we had lost to him already once before. Lloyd and I---we would show no fear. We would fulfill our destiny. We would banish the darkness for good. We would bring balance.

Because ninja.

Never.

Quit.

As soon as I came to realize this, something seemed to unlock deep within me. A completely new surge of power sprang forth, making our combined light even brighter than before. I heard the Overlord roar in rage as this new power was released. I felt an overwhelming sense of warmth like before, when I had used my Silver Lining for the first time---only now, that power was being completely unleashed in our time of need.

My yellow light turned to silver, and Lloyd’s green energy turned golden. A giant, bright ball of blinding light surrounded us, wrapping up both in its gold and silver embrace. My pain and fatigue all suddenly vanished, like I had never been injured at all. I smiled, then closed my eyes, letting all my power loose as I felt Lloyd hovering right next to me.

This was our destiny.

When the immense glare died down, I opened my eyes again. I found that Lloyd and I mirrored each other, standing side to side as we each outstretched an arm toward the Overlord accusingly. Glancing at myself briefly, I almost gasped in shock at how my ninja gi had changed. The entire ensemble was now a glittering, shiny silver with a few small accents of yellow, and the fabric was almost reflective. I glanced at Lloyd, and found that he now wore a gi that shimmered like gold with a few streaks of green. Golden and silver lights danced around the two of us, sparkling like a sphere of stars.

I’d never felt so alive in my entire life.

“We are the Ultimate Spinjitzu Masters!” Lloyd stated.

“And this...is the final battle!” I proclaimed confidently.

The Overlord roared in rage. “No!” He attacked us, swiping his claws at us.

Lloyd deflected his wing easily, and I kicked away his foot when he tried attacking again. My best friend and I fought in sync, more connected than we had ever been. The two of us then flew forward, striking the Overlord right in the chest and knocking him off the tower.

“No!” he roared in fury as he angrily flapped his wings.

Lloyd and I grabbed each other’s hand. Blinding gold and silver lights surrounded us once again, bright beacons in the center of the darkness. At the same moment, Lloyd invoked the Golden Dragon, and I invoked the Silver Lining. Our powers mixed together, and I helped Lloyd materialize a shimmering golden dragon that roared in the Overlord’s face. The golden dragon was surrounded by a bright silver aura, and streaks of that silver light ran through it, further combining our power. Lloyd sat at the dragon’s helm, and I sat behind him as we took our stand against the dark lord.

“You can’t defeat me!!” the Overlord proclaimed in a fiery rage. “Where there is light, there will always be shadow!”

I glared up at him defiantly. “Unless our light is bright enough!!”

The golden dragon surged forward, enveloping the Overlord in our combined power. He roared in pain, falling through the sky as we pushed him downward and surrounded him with gold and silver light. We plummeted toward the ground, but just before we reached it, we carried him back upward into the dark sky. The Overlord managed to break free from our dragon as we rose, leering at us once again.

“This. Ends. Now,” Lloyd stated.

“You can’t defeat me,” the Overlord proclaimed once again. 

He began emanating a thick, purple fog of darkness, making me and Lloyd look around uncertainly. Suddenly, the Overlord surged forward at us, flying around us again and again, covering us more and more with the dark fog. He enveloped us in an orb of darkness that only grew larger and larger, blocking out everything in sight and leaving us in only the blackest pit of darkness.

I gulped, grabbing onto Lloyd’s waist. “Lloyd…?”

He turned and gave me a reassuring look. “We can do this, Aurora.”

I nodded, banishing my fear again. “I know.” We were going to win, no matter what.

The Overlord then flew around our dragon so fast that we started spinning uncontrollably. When we finally stopped, there was nothing but pitch black darkness all around us. It was as if the world had faded away, and we were the only lights left. The Overlord’s massive dragon head appeared before us, laughing maniacally. Then, without any sort of warning, he opened his gaping mouth and closed it around the two of us with a mighty snap of his jaws, trapping us inside.

But he hadn’t won yet.

Lloyd and I nodded at each other in the darkness, huddling close and closing our eyes. We focused, finding our peace and releasing our inner lights that shone brighter than any star in the sky. I radiated a silver glow and Lloyd radiated a golden glow, unleashing the mighty powers that had been destined for us.

In the end, it became too much for the Overlord’s overwhelming darkness. “No! No! NO!! NOOOOOOO!!!”

His mouth was forced open from our combined light. As he screamed in pain and fury, Lloyd and I remained statues of calm and focus, tearing apart his darkness and letting our powerful light shine through. In a great burst of light, the Overlord’s hold over Ninjago was vanquished, and light flooded the land once more.

The Overlord was gone.

The balance had finally been restored.

Lloyd and I hovered above the white, fluffy clouds, still atop our dragon. The sunlight embraced us like an old friend, as if to thank us for bringing back the light. I felt a weight lift from me, and it was replaced with overwhelming happiness. Lloyd and I both pulled off our masks, beaming brightly at each other.

“Aurora, we…” Lloyd began.

I squealed, surging forward to hug him tightly. “WE DID IT!” I exclaimed, finishing his sentence in glee. The prophecy, the training, everything leading up to this---we had done it! We’d actually saved all of Ninjago!

Lloyd laughed with me gleefully, hugging me back just as tightly. The two of us remained that way for a few long, blissful moments, then pulled away from each other, still smiling so widely our cheeks would probably be hurting later.

After a few silent moments, Lloyd spoke. “Thank you.”

I raised a confused eyebrow. “For...what, exactly?”

“For sticking by me this entire time,” he explained, taking my hand. “For always believing in me. For always being there for me.”

I laughed shyly, smiling at his words. “In that case, I should thank you, too. I’ll always be there for you, Lloyd, because you’re always there for me. You don’t know how happy I am that destiny fated us to meet. If I never knew you, I would have never been a part of this adventure. I’ll be forever grateful for that.”

Lloyd mirrored my smile. I loved seeing him smile; it only made him look more handsome.

Oh dear, did I really just think that?

I wanted to kiss his cheek again. This would be the perfect moment to do so, but a part of me was still reluctant, after what happened last time. _Ah, screw it,_ I decided. _You just saved all of Ninjago and survived being eaten by a dragon. Do it!_

Trusting my instincts, I leaned forward and quickly kissed him on his cheek, just like the first time. I backed away, smiling and blushing up a storm as I averted my eyes shyly. When I grew brave enough to venture a glance at Lloyd, I was surprised to see that he wasn’t shocked this time; instead, he was blushing, too, and his smile had...grown wider?

Maybe there really was a chance he liked me back after all.

I would definitely find out. Some day.

Eventually, the two of us got over being awkward and silent. I cleared my throat, trying to make myself sound confident once more. “Come on,” I told my best friend. “Our family is waiting for us.”

He cleared his throat, too, nodding. “Right.” Turning back around in his seat, he piloted the golden and silver dragon once more. I grabbed his waist again as he dived downward, making our way to the barren patch of land in the middle of the city where the Overlord’s fortress once stood. The entire thing had vanished along with him.

As we came in for a landing, our loved ones down below cried out our names in joy. “Lloyd! Aurora!”

When our dragon landed, Lloyd and I both stood up on top of him. We grabbed each other’s hand, then together we hopped off the dragon, arriving on solid ground and walking over to join our family, hand in hand.

“You were both brilliant,” Misako praised us.

“Because of you, Ninjago was saved,” Sensei Wu told us, smiling widely. “Because of you, there will be a tomorrow.”

“Speaking of which,” Kai interjected, “if the Overlord should ever decide to show his face again around here, we’ll be ready.”

Cole smiled. “And next time, we’ll be a little more humble.”

“And a little more wise,” Zane added.

“And with better catchphrases!” Jay exclaimed.

I laughed loudly with everyone else. This was the most joy I had ever felt; I was sure that nothing could dampen my spirits right now. I’d just helped save all of freaking Ninjago! Well, that, and Lloyd still hadn’t let go of my hand.

I turned to him, but noticed that he’d stopped laughing. He was hanging his head, looking sad. “What’s wrong?” I asked him softly, even though I had a feeling I already knew the answer.

Lloyd sighed. “Dad…”

I let go of his hand and wrapped my arm around him instead in a side hug. “I’m sorry… I’ll admit, I think I’m gonna miss him.”

Misako walked up, placing a comforting hand on her son’s back. “We will all miss your father.”

The three of us, plus Sensei Wu, closed our eyes for a moment to mourn the loss. I heard the sound of rocks shifting somewhere behind us, but didn’t think much of it.

Then, a familiar voice called out, “Lloyd.”

We all turned around, and were met with the sight of an older man slowly walking toward us. He had gray hair and wore black robes. I was sure that I had never seen him before in my life, but the more I stared at him, the more familiar he seemed.

“What… What happened?” he murmured, looking disoriented.

Misako narrowed her eyes, then widened them in shock. “Garmadon?” she exclaimed. “Is it really you?”

I gasped at the same time Lloyd did, realization hitting me. _It… It’s really him!_ Somehow, Lord Garmadon had survived being possessed by the Overlord, and he was now...normal?

“Dad?!” Lloyd exclaimed, a smile breaking his face. “Oh, Dad!”

He ran to his father, meeting him in a joyful hug. Garmadon hugged his son back, and Misako walked up to them, joining in on the family embrace. I saw a light in Garmadon’s eyes that I had never seen there before---a boundless happiness at being reunited with his family at last.

“Every ounce of evil and venom is gone…” Misako stated in awe and joy.

The sight of their family reuniting made me smile widely. I felt immense happiness for Lloyd; he finally had his father back. I might never get to meet my parents, but something told me that battle lines would never separate Lloyd from his father ever again. That alone was reason to celebrate.

Garmadon laughed in joy as he held his wife and son close. “I feel...good. Ha ha! It’s been so long!”

“Good to have you back, brother,” Sensei told him, also beaming.

“Wu!” Garmadon exclaimed when he saw his younger brother, walking over to place a hand on his shoulder. “Good to be back!”

He then turned around, putting one arm around Misako and one arm around Lloyd, then leading them away for a moment to themselves. I smiled as I watched them go.

“Aw, would you look at that!” Jay said. “Who would have ever thought we’d see the day? You think we should dogpile them?”

I giggled, shaking my head. “Give them their moment, Jay,” I told him. “They’ve earned it.”

I then saw Cole smirk mischievously from the corner of my eye. “Let’s dogpile Aurora instead!”

My smile dropped from my face. “Wait, what?!”

Before I knew it, Jay leapt on top of me with a cheer, then Cole did, then Kai, and finally Zane. I was knocked to the ground underneath them, groaning at their combined weight as they piled on top of me affectionately.

“I hate you all,” I groaned up at them.

“Love you too, sis!” Cole replied in a much more pleasant tone.

That made everyone laugh hard, including me. Eventually, they all got off of me, helping me to my feet. Despite being crushed by them, I couldn’t stop smiling. I knew that I said it way too often, but this family was amazing. I was so fortunate to have found them---even if my four older brothers were obnoxious sometimes.

“It’s been quite a ride,” Cole reminisced.

Zane smiled. “You think there will be others?”

I snickered. “With this team? I’d be surprised if there wasn’t.”

“I hope so,” Cole agreed. “I liked being a ninja. It’s not like we have many other skills.”

I nudged him playfully. “Some of us have less skills than others…”

“Hey!”

Everyone shared a laugh at my joking.

Kai chuckled. “Who knows? We may have gotten the balance right today, but there’s always tomorrow. There’s no way of knowing what’s around the corner. But as long as there’s something worth fighting for, there’s always a need for a ninja. And we’ll be ready.”

His words rang true. Now that I was a fully-trained ninja, I couldn’t really imagine myself as anything else. Even though we had defeated the dark lord today, there would always be other evils that rose up to threaten the balance. And whatever came our way, we would be ready.

Lloyd and his parents eventually rejoined us. Everyone gathered together, gazing up into the sky as a new day dawned on the land of Ninjago. Lloyd and I exchanged a wide smile, and we threw our arms around each other’s shoulders, standing close.

The two of us had finally fulfilled our destiny.

The dark lord was defeated. Ninjago was saved.

No matter what was next for us, the two of us would always stick by each other’s side. Destiny had brought us together, and nothing could ever tear us apart.

Together, there was nothing that we couldn’t do.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those of you who are curious: the last chapter will be an epilogue of sorts. It'll give you a teeny bit more insight into Aurora's past. I'll probably release it in a couple days, so you guys don't have to wait another week. :)


	15. Episode 27: One Last Farewell

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Back to where it all began, to do something I should've done a long time ago:
> 
> Say goodbye.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're at the end of the book already?! Aw!
> 
> Here we are, the very last chapter! This is just a short little "epilogue" of sorts that wraps up a loose end and gives you guys a tiny bit more insight on Aurora's past. I just felt like this chapter was needed to wrap things up and send us into the next book. Speaking of the next book, keep an eye out for it, because it'll be coming out soon! As soon as I finish writing all of it, I'll post the first chapter! I am SO excited for what I have planned---you guys are gonna love it!!
> 
> And once again, thank you all for taking the time to read my books! A lot of you seem to really love my writing (which I'm still having a hard time believing lol), and so I thank you all for reading, commenting, and/or gifting me with kudos! You guys are the best and keep me motivated!  
> \---------------------------

The shadows created by the dark of night allowed me to blend in as if I were one of them. Which was good; the shiny, reflective material of my silver gi was cool and all, but it made me easy to spot, even in the darkness. I guess that the Silver Ninja wasn’t meant to be sneaky.

I crept through the trees and bushes, trying to mix any noise I made with the crickets chirping in the night. Eventually, after sneaking through the woods a few minutes more, I arrived at the edge of the trees. My masked eyes easily spotted a familiar building beyond the woods, which just so happened to be my target:

The Jamonakai Orphanage.

I released a heavy, quiet sigh at the sight of it. Surprisingly, a small part of me missed this place. After all, it had been my home for most of my life. It was the place that I always knew I could come back to after each day, where there would always be somebody who cared about me. Even though all I had really wanted during that time was to leave with a family of my own, the orphanage would always hold a special place in my heart.

After checking that nobody was around--I didn’t think that any of the villagers would be out at this time of night, but it never hurt to be sure--I crept out of the bushes and headed for a familiar window on the right side of the building. I peered inside to make sure no one was awake, then quietly lifted up the window frame, finding it to be unlocked like always. I easily hopped over the windowsill and landed silently inside, sliding the window shut behind me.

This was actually not the first time I had snuck back into the orphanage via that window. When I still lived here and couldn’t sleep, I would always use that window to sneak out and go for a walk to clear my head. Most of the time, I would end up in the plaza and stargaze from whatever roof I managed to climb up to. I’d always been back before any of the caretakers noticed I was gone, and never got in trouble for it. I guess that even before I left here, I was a ninja of sorts.

I gazed around the large room, eyeing the beds lining the left and right walls. Almost all of them were occupied by a girl, each one varying in age, but most of them young. I only recognized one or two of them; the others must’ve gotten adopted since I left. I smiled fondly, knowing that not too long ago I was one of them.

I was also just ten years old then. Now I was a teenager.

Why was my life so complicated?

Honestly, I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Recalling which of the floorboards creaked the loudest, I took care to tiptoe around them as I snuck through the room, putting my ninja stealth skills to the test. If I woke any of them and they saw me, it would create all sorts of problems that I didn’t want to deal with. Just before arriving at the doors, I paused, spotting my old bed to the left of the entrance. A sense of nostalgia washed over me, and I took a moment to reminisce. There was nobody else claiming it, but what little items I owned had been cleared away. That meant it was off to the storage closet for me.

Softly, I opened one of the doors to the room, slipped through the opening, then closed it behind me. Half of the lights were on in the main foyer, as always, and I was relieved to see nobody in there. Still being as quiet as possible, I snuck through the building to where the storage closet was. I arrived there quickly, turning the handle and relieved to find that it wasn’t locked. I slipped through the door, almost fully closing it behind me. The room was dark, but I wasn’t going to turn on the light in fear of being discovered. Instead, I summoned a small orb of bright yellow light in the palm of my hand, using it to light my way.

The storage room was mainly used to keep the older lost and found things that nobody had claimed, as well as the belongings of past residences, mostly the things they’d accidentally left behind when they’d been adopted. They were kept here in boxes in case the owners came back for them one day.

I walked to the back of the small room, bringing my light orb up to the wall of shelves that lined the back wall. I scanned the names written on the boxes, looking for one with my name. Soon enough, I found such a box; it was more of a small shoebox, really. I pulled it off of the shelf, setting it down on another surface so that I could open it with one hand.

Inside, I found the three familiar items that I had truly been able to call my own. The first of these was an old, folded scrap of paper, crumpled from being opened and closed way too many times. The next thing was a worn, light yellow baby blanket made of silk (I snorted as I now realized how incredibly ironic the color was). And lastly was a small dragon plushie, which I’d won from an arcade a few years back on one of our many field trips to Ninjago City.

I immediately grabbed the piece of paper and stuffed it into my pocket, glad to have it back with me. Then, I gathered the remaining two items in my arms, smiling at them fondly. Sure, I could live without them, but I was admittedly emotionally attached to them, so it was better now that I had them again.

I was about to close the box and put it back on the shelf when the closet’s lights suddenly came to life.

I froze, hearing a soft gasp from behind me. Jerking my head around, I was met with the sight of the orphanage’s head caretaker, the woman that lived here with us and owned the place: Mrs. Bell.

Busted.

A part of me had wanted to see her again, to give her one last farewell, but another part of me had wanted to remain undiscovered so I wouldn’t have to confront her. I still felt incredibly guilty for just running away, after all. She had always been so amazingly nice to me, and when I left I must’ve made her worry so much.

_ Well, that’s no longer an option. _ Perhaps this was for the best?

Mrs. Bell was an older lady, but not Sensei Wu old. She wore a robe over her nightgown, standing in the doorway and staring at me in shock. “Y-You’re…” She tried to get over her surprise to form words. “You’re the Silver Ninja!” Oh, right. Lloyd and I were both now famous throughout all of Ninjago for what we had done. Still something that I was trying to get used to, and would probably feel strange for a while. “W-Why are you here? What are you doing?”

For a moment, I just stood there frozen like a kid caught with her hand in the cookie jar (which, I’ll admit, had actually happened once). Then, I sighed, turning to face her fully and making a gesture with my hands to tell her to calm down. Then, with the arm that wasn’t carrying my stuff, I reached up and pulled my mask off of my head. “I-It’s me, Mrs. Bell,” I told her, hoping that she would recognize me and not freak out. “It’s Aurora.” Well, the last time she saw me, I had been only ten years old. I wouldn’t blame her if she didn’t believe me.

Mrs. Bell’s face scrunched up in confusion. Her hand moved away from the light switch she’d flicked on, and she slowly walked closer to me, scrutinizing my face. Then after a long moment, she halted in front of me, her eyes widening in recognition. “Aurora?” she asked softly, surprised again. When I nodded in confirmation, a smile slowly spread across her face. “Oh, it  _ is _ you! I can’t believe it!” She reached over and lightly caressed my cheek with her hand, like an old grandmother would to her grandchild. “Look at how you’ve grown.”

I chuckled sheepishly. “Yeah, uh, it must be weird...seeing me a lot older than I should be.” I rubbed the nape of my neck nervously. “It’s kind of a long story…”

“Oh, I can imagine,” Mrs. Bell replied, smiling in amusement. “When I saw you and the Golden Ninja on the TV fighting the Overlord, I had thought that you looked familiar. But I didn’t want to get my hopes up…”

My eyebrows rose. “Y-You saw me on TV? I was  _ on  _ TV?!”

She nodded. “Oh, yes, dear.” She the put a hand to her chest, sighing. “I am so relieved to see that you are safe and sound.”

I inwardly cringed, feeling the guilt rush back. “I…” I spoke after taking a deep breath. “I’m so sorry, Mrs. Bell. I-I promise that I didn’t mean to vanish without a trace, but things just sort of...happened that way. You see, I was walking through the village, and then I found this boy dangling from a roof---”

Mrs. Bell held a hand up, in a kind gesture for me to stop. I had been prepared to explain my entire tale to her, but it appeared that she...didn’t want me to? “Aurora, dear, it’s alright. I’m not angry with you.”

“You...aren’t?” I inquired, confused.

She shook her head. “No, I am not.” She sighed tiredly. “I am just relieved to finally know for sure that you are safe and sound. When you didn’t come back that evening, or the next morning, I had everyone asking around for you. A few of the villagers said that you had followed some boy up into the mountains. I’ll admit that I was worried sick for quite some time, when we were left with no other explanation as to where you went.”

I hung my head in shame, still feeling guilty.  _ I knew it. She spent sleepless nights worrying, all because of me. _

“But as time went on,” she continued, “something told me that I shouldn’t be worrying about you. I’m not sure what it was, or if it was anything at all, but something told me that you were alright.” She then gestured to my ninja gi, smiling. “And look at you! I’d say that you’re more than alright, aren’t you? You’re a ninja! Not only that, you helped save all of Ninjago! You’re a hero.”

I blushed at her praise. “Aw, it’s not that big a deal…”

“Oh, stop being modest, dear!” Mrs. Bell replied. She smiled at me fondly, placing a hand on my shoulder. “I am very proud of you and what you grew up to be. And you finally found that family you always wanted, yes?”

I nodded, returning her smile. “Yeah.”

“Are you happy with them?”

I nodded again, eagerly. “I am,” I assured her.

“Then that is all I need to know,” she told me, taking her hand off my shoulder. “All these years, I was so confused as to why a sweet girl like you wasn’t being adopted while all the other girls were. But now, I see that it was because you would go out and find your own family one day. Almost like it was---”

“Destiny,” I finished for her, smiling at the word.

She nodded in agreement. “Indeed.” She smiled at me fondly, like a proud parent of sorts. “It brings me great joy to know that you’re living your best life, alongside people who care for you.”

My eyes grew watery, wondering how I had ever deserved to know such an amazing woman. I leaned forward and hugged her tightly, remembering all the fond memories I had with her growing up. “Thank you so much, Mrs. Bell,” I told her softly, trying to keep the tears at bay. “Thank you for everything you’ve ever done for me. I’ll never forget it.”

She hugged me back tightly. “It was my pleasure, dear.” When we pulled away, I saw her trying to blink back tears, too. “This was a gift; I’m so glad I got to see you one last time.” She then stepped aside, gesturing to the open door. “You had better be going, I imagine. A ninja’s work is never done---or that’s what I hear the saying is, anyway.”

I chuckled. “Something like that.” I gave her one last, giant smile. “Thanks again. For everything.”

Mrs. Bell nodded, mirroring my smile. “If you ever need anything, dear, remember that my door is always open to you.”

I gave her a smile that thanked her more than words ever could. I stepped past her, heading for the door, but then I stopped, looking down at the dragon plushie I carried. Making a decision, I turned around to face her again. “Mrs. Bell?”

She turned from where she had slipped the box back onto the shelf. “Yes, dear?”

I held the dragon plushie to her with an outstretched hand. “Would you, um… Would you please give this to one of the girls?”

A fond smile appeared on her face, and she looked touched. “Oh, that’s so sweet of you, dear!” She reached over and took the plushie from my hand. “Of course. I’ll see to it that this is given to one of them.”

“Thanks,” I replied. After one last fond look at the dragon plushie, I turned around again, ready to head out.

“Oh, Aurora?” The inquiring voice of Mrs. Bell stopped me one last time. “Did you have any particular girl in mind for me to give this to?”

I looked back at her, giving her a sad smile. “Whoever has been here the longest.”

. . .

Mrs. Bell let me out of the back door, so I didn’t have to sneak my way back outside. After giving her one final goodbye, I walked back into the woods where I’d come from, my blanket in my arms and the piece of paper in my hand. It was bittersweet, leaving the place I’d grown up in---but I had a new home now, and a family I wouldn't trade for anything. Plus, I finally didn’t have to feel guilty anymore for running away; I finally had closure, and so did Mrs. Bell.

In no time, I arrived at a wide, moonlit clearing in the middle of the woods. Lloyd was there waiting for me, leaning against a tree and looking like he was trying very hard to not doze off. When he spotted me, he woke up instantly, walking over to me.

“Hey,” he greeted. “How’d it go?”

I smiled. “It went well,” I informed him. “Very well.”

He smiled, too, nodding. “Glad to hear it.” He then eyed the items I was carrying curiously. “What’re those?”

My smile grew sad as I held up the two belongings, one in each hand. “Well… To put it simply, these are the only two connections I have to my birth parents.”

Lloyd’s eyes widened in surprise. “Really?”

I nodded. “Mm-hmm. This is the blanket they found me wrapped up in as a baby, in a basket on the orphanage’s doorstep,” I explained, gesturing to the yellow blanket. Then, I held up the paper. “And this…” I held it out to Lloyd. “Well, read it for yourself.”

Lloyd took the note from me, opening it up. He began reading aloud the words I knew by heart. “‘Please, protect and take care of our daughter. We can no longer keep her safe. We will return for her as soon as we’re able, but if we do not...please make sure she finds a loving home, with a family that loves her as much as we do. Her name is Aurora.’” He frowned when he was done, looking saddened as he looked back up at me.

I sighed despondently. “I couldn’t tell you the number of times I’ve read that note, over and over again… It’s kind of pathetic, actually.”

“W-Well no, I don’t think so,” Lloyd replied, shaking his head.

I gave him a grateful smile. “The woman who took care of me---I’ve asked her countless times about my parents, but not even she knew much. She was the only one at the orphanage to ever even see them, and even then, all she saw was two dark figures disappearing around a corner in the night. It might not have even been them at all,” I sighed again, hugging my small blanket close. “All these years, I’ve wondered about them. Where they are now. Why they never came back for me. Why they gave me up. Wondering if they’re even still…” I got all choked up just thinking about it.

Seeing my distress, Lloyd walked over, placing a comforting hand on my shoulder. “Hey. You may not know much about it now, but I promise you: one day, you’ll find out who they are. And I’ll be there with you every step of the way.”

I looked up. “Really?” I asked him. “You’d do that?”

He nodded, smiling at me. “Of course!”

I immediately hugged him gratefully, to which he responded with a chuckle. “Thank you.”

“Hey, what else is family for?” he asked me. Eventually, we pulled away (much to my chagrin; hugs with him were always nice) and he gestured over his shoulder. “Now, come on. We’d better get going.”

I smiled, crossing my arms as I followed him to the center of the clearing. “Right. Our victory tour awaits.”

Lloyd snickered. “Is that what we’re calling it?”

“What else would we call it?” I inquired.

“I dunno,” Lloyd replied, shrugging. “Maybe the ‘series of award ceremonies the people of Ninjago are begging us to attend’ tour.”

“Eh, mine is less wordy,” I pointed out.

Lloyd chuckled. “Alright, I guess you have a point.”

The two of us stood side by side in the middle of the grassy clearing. Together, we both summoned our power, his golden and mine silver. The two of us formed the golden dragon beneath us, me combining my power with his and making the dragon emanate a silver glow that mixed with the gold. I sat behind Lloyd on the dragon’s back, leaning to the side so I could look him in the face.

“You guess?” I echoed, raising an eyebrow. “Well, I suppose you  _ are _ all for wordy names, Mr. Lloyd Montgomery Garmadon.”

Lloyd groaned, facepalming while I laughed at his expense. “Would you quit bringing that up?” he asked me, smiling despite his annoyance.

I smirked at him. “Oh, alright. I promise to never never not quit bringing that up.”

“That sentence made my brain hurt.”

“Good.”

“How is that a good thing?”

“I’ve gotta keep you on your toes somehow.”

We both laughed loudly. If we were getting into this many shenanigans before this trip had even started, I was excited to see what else it would bring.

I pulled my mask back over my head. “Alright. Time to get this show on the road, I suppose.” I leaned around to look at Lloyd once more. “Are you ready, Golden Ninja?”

Lloyd chuckled at my use of his new title, pulling his own mask over his head as well. “Like you even had to ask, Silver Ninja,” he replied.

Together, the two of us took off into the starry night sky, on the back of our gold and silver dragon. No matter what came next for us, we would both be by each other’s side through it all. Lloyd and I cheered in joy and excitement as we soared into the sky, off to start the next chapter of our lives, and flying into the future.

  
  


**_The End_ **


End file.
